Fossil Reptiles from the Panchet Beds of India

Abstract

MANY previous writers have suggested that the dicynodont present in the Panchet sandstones might be Lystrosaurus. Some, such as de P. Cotter, were not concerned with a review of the dicynodont material available but had some particular stratigraphic axe to grind. Others (Lydekker, Das Gupta, von Huene) have directed attention to certain features of the few fragments available. It is probably not possible to identify Lystrosaurus on such fragments. Many characters can be matched individually with those seen in some other dicynodont. A complex of characters, and in particular the key characters of Lystrosaurus which are dependent on the relative shortness of the temporal region as compared with length and depth of snout region, can obviously only be assessed on a reasonably complete skull. The matter has been well expressed by Das Gupta¹, “⃛ without the discovery of an entire skull, the zoological position of the Panchet reptile cannot be definitely settled⃛”.