Cistecephalids are among the most distinctive Permian dicynodonts because of their highly derived skulls and postcrania, which indicate a fossorial ecology. Four cistecephalid species have been described from India, South Africa, and Tanzania; a fifth putative species has been reported from the Luangwa Basin of Zambia but never formally described. Here we present a detailed description of the Luangwa Basin cistecephalid, which we name Kembawacela kitchingi gen. et. sp. nov. The most obvious diagnostic character of K. kitchingi is the presence of caniniform tusks in most specimens. Other important characters include a pineal foramen located at the posterior end of the skull roof; an interparietal that has a pair of anterior processes that extend onto the dorsal surface of the skull, flanking the pineal foramen (but otherwise is restricted to the occipital surface); an undivided nuchal crest; and a trough on the ventral surface of the mid‐ventral vomerine plate. Phylogenetic analysis reconstructs Kembawacela as a basal cistecephalid and confirms that Cistecephalidae is a well‐supported clade. However, relationships within the clade received low branch support. Increased knowledge of cistecephalid diversity shows that they vary in functionally relevant characters, such as degree of inflation of the bony vestibule and the morphology of the scapula and humerus, indicating the need for a more nuanced approach to the relationship between form, function and ecology in the clade. The highly allopatric distribution of cistecephalid species suggests that they experienced strong interspecific competition for limited resources and had limited dispersal ability, similar to extant subterranean mammals.

中文翻译：

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赞比亚卢安瓜盆地二叠系上部马杜木比萨泥岩组上的一个新的tus齿的顺脑双齿双齿龙（Therapsida，Anomodontia）

弯头猴由于其高度衍生的颅骨和颅骨后裂而成为最独特的二叠纪犬齿龙类之一，这表明它是一个窝囊生态。已经从印度，南非和坦桑尼亚描述了四种顺脑类物种；据报道，赞比亚的卢安瓜盆地有五种推定物种，但从未正式描述。在这里，我们对Luangwa盆地的顺脑畸形进行了详细描述，我们将其命名为Kembawacela kitchingi gen。等。sp。十一月 K. kitchingi最明显的诊断特征大多数样本中都存在犬形象牙。其他重要特征还包括位于颅骨顶后端的松果孔；顶壁间有一对前突，延伸到头骨的背面，在松果体孔的侧面（但仅限于枕骨面）；不可分割的颈部波峰；腹中部腹膜板腹面有一个槽。系统发育分析重建金边作为基侧脑脊液，并确认Ci侧科是一个支撑良好的进化枝。但是，分支中的关系得到的分支支持较低。对脑脊髓多样性的了解的增加表明，它们在功能上相关的特征上有所不同，例如骨前庭的膨胀程度以及肩骨和肱骨的形态，这表明有必要采用更细致入微的方法来研究形态，功能和生态之间的关系。进化枝。与现存的地下哺乳动物相似，顺脑动物的高度异源性分布表明它们经历了种间竞争，争夺有限的资源并具有有限的扩散能力。