Venyukovioidea is an infraorder of anomodont

Anomodont

The Anomodontia were a major group of therapsids, an extinct group of animals commonly known as "mammal-like reptiles." They were mostly toothless herbivores. During the Middle Permian they were very diverse, including groups like the Venyukovioidea, the Dromasauria, the Dicynodontia, and early...

 therapsids from the Permian

Permian

The PermianThe term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Sir R. I. Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named his "Permian...

 of Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

. It includes the genera Otsheria

Otsheria

Otsheria is an extinct genus of anomodont from the Permian of Russia.-References:*The Origin and Evolution of Mammals by T. S. Kemp...

, Venyukovia

Venyukovia

Venyukovia is an extinct genus of anomodont....

, Ulemica

Ulemica

Ulemica is an extinct genus of venjukoviid therapsid. It was a basal member of the suborder Anomodontia that existed during the Late Permian in Russia. The type species, U. invisa, was assigned to the genus Venjukovia prior to being placed within its own genus in 1996.-References:*...

, and Suminia. Venyukovioidea and Dromasauria

Dromasauria

Dromasaurs are a paraphyletic group of anomodont therapsids from the Middle Permian. They were small with slender legs long tails. Their skulls were short, but the eye sockets were large. Dromasauria was once considered to be a major group of basal anomodonts along with the infraorder Venyukovioidea...

 were traditionally considered the two main groups of basal

Basal (phylogenetics)

In phylogenetics, a basal clade is the earliest clade to branch in a larger clade; it appears at the base of a cladogram.A basal group forms an outgroup to the rest of the clade, such as in the following example:...

 anomodonts. Dromasauria was considered a Gondwana

Gondwana

In paleogeography, Gondwana , originally Gondwanaland, was the southernmost of two supercontinents that later became parts of the Pangaea supercontinent. It existed from approximately 510 to 180 million years ago . Gondwana is believed to have sutured between ca. 570 and 510 Mya,...

n group while Venyukovioidea was a Euramerica

Euramerica

Euramerica was a minor supercontinent created in the Devonian as the result of a collision between the Laurentian, Baltica, and Avalonia cratons .300 million years ago in the Late Carboniferous tropical rainforests lay over the equator of Euramerica...

n group. More recent studies consider Dromasauria to be paraphyletic. Venyukovioidea is thought to have arisen from basal anomodonts in Africa and underwent an evolutionary radiation in Russia.

External links

• Venyukovioidea in the Paleobiology Database
  Paleobiology Database
  ' is an online resource for information on the distribution and classification of fossil animals, plants, and microorganisms.-History:The Paleobiology Database was founded in 2000. It has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the Australian Research Council...