Cynognathus Assemblage Zone
Encyclopedia
The Cynognathus Assemblage Zone is a geological
stratum
and a faunal zone
of the Beaufort Group
, of the South Africa
n Karoo
. The name refers to Cynognathus
, a genus of eucynodontia
n mammal-like reptile, whose fossil
s have been found in that structure.
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
stratum
Stratum
In geology and related fields, a stratum is a layer of sedimentary rock or soil with internally consistent characteristics that distinguish it from other layers...
and a faunal zone
Biozone
Biostratigraphic units or Biozones are intervals of geological strata that are defined on the basis of their characteristic fossil taxa....
of the Beaufort Group
Beaufort Group
The Beaufort Group is the third of the main subdivisions of the Karoo Supergroup of geological strata in Southern Africa. It follows conformably after the Ecca Group and consists essentially of sandstones and shales, deposited in the Karoo Basin from the Middle Permian to the early part of the...
, of the South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n Karoo
Karoo
The Karoo is a semi-desert region of South Africa. It has two main sub-regions - the Great Karoo in the north and the Little Karoo in the south. The 'High' Karoo is one of the distinct physiographic provinces of the larger South African Platform division.-Great Karoo:The Great Karoo has an area of...
. The name refers to Cynognathus
Cynognathus
Cynognathus crateronotus was a meter-long predator of the Early to Middle Triassic. It was among the more mammal-like of the Synapsids, a member of a grouping called Eucynodontia. The genus Cynognathus had an almost worldwide distribution...
, a genus of eucynodontia
Eucynodontia
Eucynodontia is a grouping of animals that includes both mammals, such as dogs, and mammal-like non-mammalian therapsids such as cynodonts . Its membership was and is made up of both carnivores and herbivores. The chronological range extends from at least the Lower Triassic, possibly the Upper...
n mammal-like reptile, whose fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s have been found in that structure.