Elph (therapsid)
Extinct genus of dicynodonts
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Elph (an arbitrary combination of letters[1]) is an extinct genus of dicynodont therapsids from Russia. Four specimens have been found from the Sokolki Assemblage in European Russia, representing a fauna that dates back to the Late Permian.[2] The holotype, PIN 2353/37, was originally considered a juvenile specimen due to its small size (with a total skull length of 106 mm), before being recognized as a mature individual.[1]
| Elph Temporal range: Late Permian, | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Synapsida |
| Clade: | Therapsida |
| Clade: | †Anomodontia |
| Clade: | †Dicynodontia |
| Family: | †Elphidae |
| Subfamily: | †Elphinae |
| Genus: | †Elph Kurkin, 1999 |
| Species: | †E. borealis |
| Binomial name | |
| †Elph borealis Kurkin, 1999 | |
Elph was a small herbivore that lived alongside carnivorous akidnognathids and inostranceviids, as well as larger herbivores like Dicynodon and pareiasaurids.[3] The type species E. borealis was named in 1999. Elph has a short snout and tusks and is closely related to Interpresosaurus and Katumbia.[4]
