Cherninia

Cherninia is an extinct genus of mastodonsaurid temnospondyl. The type species, Cherninia denwai, is known from the Denwa Formation of India. It is based on a massive skull, ISI A 54, which was originally considered a species of Parotosuchus in 1998 before being given its own genus in 2001.

Cherninia
Temporal range: Middle Triassic
Life restoration of Cherninia denwai
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Temnospondyli
Suborder: Stereospondyli
Clade: Capitosauria
Family: Mastodonsauridae
Genus: Cherninia
Damiani, 2001
Species
  • C. denwai Mukherjee & Sengupta, 1998 (type)
  • C. megarhina Chernin & Cosgriff, 1975

Another species, Cherninia megarhina, is known from the Upper Ntawere Formation of Zambia. C. megarhina is based on another large skull, BP/1/4223, which had also been previously referred to Parotosuchus. Though not as well-preserved as the skull of C. denwai, BP/1/4233 was described earlier in 1974. It was described by Sharon Chernin, a paleontologist at the Bernard Price Institute and the namesake of the genus.

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