page_title: Paraburnetia
section_title: Classification
hierarchical_section_title: Paraburnetia / Classification
caption_attribution_description: Some members of burnetiamorpha
context_page_description: Paraburnetia is an extinct genus of biarmosuchian therapsids from the Late Permian of South Africa. It is known for its species P. sneeubergensis and belongs to the family Burnetiidae. Paraburnetia lived just before the Permian–Triassic mass extinction event.
  The etymology of Paraburnetia sneeubergensis comes from para, meaning beside or near; Burnetia indicating the first named member of the clade; and sneeubergensis for the location the Sneeuberge mountains above where the specimen was found.
  P. sneeubergensis is known by its knobby skull, which is a shared synapomorphy with B. mirabilis and P. viatkensis They are synapsids, from which, their clade of therapsids is derived from. Descending from one of the first therapsids, biarmosuchus, Paraburnetia evolved prominent canine teeth, a long zygomatic process that extends under the orbit, and shorter phalanges with fewer joints that the lizard-like pelycosaurs. They were small to medium in sized carnivores. Burnetiamorphs distinguished themselves from the basal forms of Biarmosuchians by developing bumpy knobs on their skulls, specifically towards the posterior of the skull and on the nasal.
context_section_description: Paraburnetia belongs to the clade burnetiidae, a subdivision of the greater clade biarmosuchian therapsids. Biarmosuchians are typically considered the most basal major lineage of therapsids. Biarmosuchia consists of a paraphyletic series of basal biarmosuchians that are fairly typical early therapsids, and the derived clade Burnetiamorpha, characterized by skulls ornamented by horns and bosses.
  The close morphological similarity between Paraburnetia and Proburnetia indicates that there was faunal interaction between their zones in early Wuchiapingian. On the geological timescale, Wuchiapingian was a stage of the Permian.  Additionally, an analysis of the phylogenetic relationships showed that Burnetia, Bullacephalus, Niuksenitia, Paraburnetia, and Proburnetia are within clade Burnetiidae. Within Burnetiidae, Proburnetia and Paraburnetia are sister taxa and Lemurosaurus is the most basal burnetiamorph.
caption: Lobalopex (fourth) and relatives
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