Fonda Ricardo Matlhaga
MSc Student
Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand
Biography
I am a Masters student at the University of the Witwatersrand. My current research focuses on the description, phylogeny, biostratigraphy, and body size trends of early anomodonts from the middle Permian of South Africa and implications for anomodont phylogeny and Palaeoecology.
Disciplines
Therapsids, Evolution, Phylogeny
Fields of study
Anomodontia is among the most prosperous therapsid clades in terms of abundance and diversity. Their largest subclade, the Dicynodontia, were present from the middle Permian to the late Triassic, reaching their maximum diversity during the late Permian, before the end-Permian extinction event 252 million years ago. Basal anomodonts are known from South Africa, Russia, China, and Brazil. They are comparatively rare and, as such, the earliest stages of anomodont evolutionary radiation remain obscure. My research focuses on describing the cranial morphology of two new anomodont specimens from the lower Beaufort Group of South Africa. Once described, the phylogenetic position of these new specimens and their effect on anomodont systematics will be addressed by scoring them in a pre-existing cladistic analysis. Finally, given their vastly different cranial size, these two new specimens broaden the range of body size of middle Permian anomodonts.
Awards and recognition
- Certificate of First Class in Palaeontology (2020)
- Certificate of First Class in Animal Behaviour (2021)
- Certificate of First Class in Microscopy (2021)
- Certificate of First class in Karoo Palaeoecology, biostratigraphy and synapsid Evolution (2022).
- Certificate of First class in Phylogenetics (2022).
- Certificate of First class in Micropalaeontology and Invertebrate Palaeontology (2022).
- Palaeontological Scientific Trust grant (2023)
