All modern mammals are descendants of the paraphyletic non-mammaliaform Synapsida,
colloquially referred to as the “mammal-like reptiles.” It has long been assumed that these …

The long neck of the giraffe has been held as a classic example of adaptive evolution since
Darwin's time. Here we report on an unusual fossil giraffoid, Discokeryx xiezhi, from the early …

Headbutting is a combative behavior most popularly portrayed and exemplified in the extant
bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis). When behaviorally proposed in extinct taxa, these …

Lumkuia fuzzi is a small non-mammalian cynodont from the Middle Triassic of South Africa. It
has traditionally been phylogenetically identified as a basal Probainognathia, but some …

Prozostrodon brasiliensis and Therioherpeton cargnini are non‐mammaliaform cynodonts
that lived~ 233 million years ago (late Carnian, Late Triassic) in western Gondwana. They …

Mammals are arguably the most conspicuous tetrapods in the modern biota. Although there
are fewer extant mammal species (~ 5,500) than birds (~ 10,000) or squamates (~ 10,000) …

For over a century, researchers have assumed that the plane of the lateral semicircular
canal of the inner ear lies parallel to the horizon when the head is at rest, and used this …

In mammals, the infraorbital canal provides a passage for the infraorbital ramus of the
maxillary branch of the trigeminal nerve. The infraorbital nerve ensures tactile sensitivity of …

Gorgonopsians are among the most recognizable groups of synapsids from the Permian
period and have an extensive but mostly cranial fossil record. By contrast, relatively little is …

The cranial anatomy of the early non‐mammalian cynodont Galesaurus planiceps from the
South African Karoo Basin is redescribed on the basis of a computed tomographic …