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Updated: Jul 28, 2025

Systematic Assessment of Mammalian Skull Specimens for Dental and Temporomandibular Joint Pathology
Published on: August 22, 2022
The maxillary canal of the titanosuchid Jonkeria (Synapsida, Dinocephalia)
Julien Benoit1, Luke A Norton2, Sifelani Jirah2
1Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. julien.benoit@wits.ac.za.
Abstract:
The maxillary canal of the titanosuchid dinocephalian Jonkeria is described based on digitised serial sections. We highlight that its morphology is more like that of the tapinocephalid Moschognathus than that of Anteosaurus. This is unexpected given the similarities between the dentition of Jonkeria and Anteosaurus (i.e., presence of a canine) and the fact that the branching pattern of the maxillary canal in synapsids usually co-varies with dentition. Hypotheses to account for similarities between Jonkeria and Moschognathus (common ancestry, function in social signalling or underwater sensing) are discussed. It is likely that the maxillary canal carries a strong phylogenetic signal, here supporting the clade Tapinocephalia.
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