Elliotsmithia
| Elliotsmithia Temporal range: Middle Permian | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Family: | †Varanopidae |
| Subfamily: | †Varanopinae |
| Genus: | †Elliotsmithia Broom, 1937 |
| Type species | |
| †Elliotsmithia longiceps Broom, 1937 | |
Elliotsmithia is a small varanopid synapsid found from the late Middle Permian of South Africa. It is the sole basal synapsid "pelycosaur" known from the supercontinent Gondwana and only two specimens have been yielded to date. Its species name longiceps is derived from Latin, meaning "long head". Both known Elliotsmithia fossils were recovered from Abrahamskraal Formation rocks—within the boundaries of the Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone—of the lower Beaufort Group. It was named for the late Sir Grafton Elliot Smith in 1937.
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