Pampaphoneus biccai Cisneros et al. 2012

Costa Santos, Mateus A., Paes Neto, Voltaire D., Schultz, Cesar L., Cisneros, Juan & Pinheiro, Stephanie E. Pierce and Felipe L., 2023, Cranial osteology of the Brazilian dinocephalian Pampaphoneus biccai (Anteosauridae: Syodontinae), Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 199, pp. 1034-1058 : 1038-1039

Pampaphoneus biccai Cisneros et al. 2012

Holotype: UFRGS–PV-0386-P, a near complete skull with lower jaw.

Locality and horizon: Boqueirão Farm (30° 00ʹ 11.38ʹʹ S, 54° 05ʹ 17.44ʹʹ W), Catuçaba District , São Gabriel Municipality, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. The rocks exposed at this site belongs to the Morro Pelado Member of the Rio do Rasto Formation (Guadalupian) ( Cisneros et al. 2012)

Referred specimens: UNIPAMPA 759, a near complete skull with lower jaw and postcranial remains also collected from the type-locality; UFRGS-PV-0249-P, a fragmentary right dentary, collected from the ‘Fazenda Fagundes’ locality (30° 01ʹ S, 54° 09ʹ W).

Revised diagnosis: Pampaphoneus biccai can be distinguished from all other anteosaurids by a squamosal (posterior) process of the jugal extending beyond the anteriormost margin of the temporal fenestra and by the presence of a poorly developed, elliptical boss at the angular. It can be distinguished from all other anteosaurids, except Syodon biarmicum , by the presence of nine upper postcanines, which bear mesial and distal serrations and have a bulbous shape. It can be distinguished from Syodon biarmicum by a crest that extends from the pineal boss until the orbital rim; the presence of a diastema separating the upper canine from the first postcanines; the presence of a marked depression on the posterior portion of the maxilla, postfrontal and the entire lacrimal (limited to the lacrimal in Syodon biarmicum ); and in Pampaphoneus biccai the frontals do not divide the parietals. In addition, Pampaphoneus biccai , has a frontal depression anterior to the pineal boss that is deeper than that present in Syodon biarmicum .