Epicynodontia

Epicynodontia is a clade of cynodont therapsids that includes most cynodonts, such as galesaurids, thrinaxodontids, and Eucynodontia (including mammals). It was erected as a stem-based taxon by Hopson and Kitching (2001) and defined as the most inclusive clade containing Mammalia and excluding Procynosuchus, a Late Permian genus that is one of the most basal cynodonts.[1]

Epicynodontia Temporal range: Late Permian-Present, 260–0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Skeleton of Thrinaxodon liorhinus, a basal epicynodont
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Clade:	Therapsida
Clade:	Cynodontia
Clade:	Epicynodontia Hopson and Kitching, 2001
Subgroups
†Bolotridon †Galesauridae †Platycraniellus †Thrinaxodontidae †Vetusodon Eucynodontia

Below is a cladogram from Ruta, Botha-Brink, Mitchell and Benton (2013) showing one hypothesis of cynodont relationships:[2]

Cynodontia	Charassognathus         Dvinia     Procynosuchus     Epicynodontia   Cynosaurus     Galesauridae   Galesaurus     Progalesaurus       Thrinaxodontidae   Nanictosaurus     Thrinaxodon         Platycraniellus   Eucynodontia   Cynognathia     Probainognathia (including mammals)

References

1. Hopson, J.A.; Kitching, J.W. (2001). "A probainognathian cynodont from South Africa and the phylogeny of nonmammalian cynodonts". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 156 (1): 5–35.
2. Ruta, M.; Botha-Brink, J.; Mitchell, S. A.; Benton, M. J. (2013). "The radiation of cynodonts and the ground plan of mammalian morphological diversity". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 280 (1769): 20131865. doi:10.1098/rspb.2013.1865. PMC 3768321. PMID 23986112.