of the family Cynognathidae. Later a clade Cynognathia was named after the genus, within the Eucynodontia. Paleobiology The dentary was equipped with differentiated teeth that show this animal could effectively process its food before swallowing. The presence of a secondary palate in the mouth indicates that Cynognathus would have been able to breathe and swallow simultaneously. The possible lack of belly ribs, in the stomach region, suggests the presence of an efficient diaphragm: an important muscle for mammalian breathing. Pits and canals on the bone of the snout indicate concentrations of nerves and blood vessels. In mammals, such structures allow hairs (whiskers) to be used as sensory organs. See also Cynognathia Evolution of mammals Paleoworld- Featured in the episode "Tail Of A Sail". Thrinaxodon Tritylodontids References Further reading Seeley (1895), "Researches on the structure, organization, and classification of the fossil Reptilia. Part IX., Section 5. On the skeleton in new Cynodontia from the Karroo rocks". Phil. Transactions of the Roy. Soc. of London, series B 186, p. 59–148. Cynognathians Prehistoric cynodont genera Middle Triassic genus first appearances Middle Triassic genus extinctions Middle Triassic synapsids of Africa Triassic Namibia Fossils of Namibia Omingonde Formation Triassic South Africa Fossils of South Africa Triassic Tanzania Fossils of Tanzania Middle Triassic synapsids of South America Triassic Argentina Fossils of Argentina Extinct animals of Antarctica Triassic Antarctica Fossils of Antarctica Fossil taxa described in 1895 Taxa named by Harry Seeley