page_title: Bulbasaurus
section_title: Discovery and naming
hierarchical_section_title: Bulbasaurus / Discovery and naming
caption_attribution_description: English: Figure 1: SAM-PK-K11235, holotype of Bulbasaurus phylloxyron gen. et sp. nov., in situ at the type locality of Driekoppe, Vredelus, Fraserburg, Western Cape Province, South Africa. (A) Specimen in left semi-lateral view; (B) specimen in dorsal view.
context_page_description: Bulbasaurus is an extinct genus of dicynodont that is known from the Lopingian epoch of the Late Permian period of what is now South Africa, containing the type and only species B. phylloxyron. It was formerly considered as belonging to Tropidostoma; however, due to numerous differences from Tropidostoma in terms of skull morphology and size, it has been reclassified the earliest known member of the family Geikiidae, and the only member of the group known from the Tropidostoma Assemblage Zone. Within the Geikiidae, it has been placed close to Aulacocephalodon, although a more basal position is not implausible.
  Bulbasaurus was not directly named after the Pokémon Bulbasaur, but rather after its nasal bosses, which are unusually bulbous among geikiids; however, the describers noted that the similarity in name "may not be entirely coincidental." Additionally, the specific name of the type species means "leaf razor", which is most directly a reference to its keratin-covered jaws. Other distinguishing characteristics of Bulbasaurus among the geikiids include the hook-like beak, very large tusks, and absence of bossing on the prefrontal bone.
context_section_description: The holotype specimen of Bulbasaurus was found by Roger M.H. Smith in the Vredelus locality, which is located at an altitude of 1,445 metres (4,741 ft), in the district of Fraserburg, Northern Cape, South Africa. This locality is part of what is known as the Tropidostoma Assemblage Zone, which belongs to the Lopingian (upper Permian) Hoedemaker Member of the Middle Teekloof Formation. The Tropidostoma AZ is named after the oudenodontid Tropidostoma, which occurs commonly at the site. The holotype itself, which is catalogued as SAM-PK-K11235, is a partially complete skull that is missing the left subtemporal and both postorbital bars. It was discovered lying right-side-up in a bed of grey siltstone with embedded micrite nodules, and there were no associated remains from the rest of the skeleton. "Head-only" preservation is common in therapsid fossils of the Hoedemaker Member, because the specimens were probably left out in the open and became disarticulated before being rapidly buried by flash floods.
  Other referred specimens include the nearly-complete skull CGP/1/938 (from the Wilgerbosch Kloof locality in Fraserburg), the complete skull CGP/1/949 (also from Wilgerbosch Kloof), the complete skull with associated lower jaws and postcranial remains CGP/1/970 (from the Blaauwkrans locality in Beaufort West, Western Cape), the complete but crushed skull CGP/1/2263 (locality unknown), the crushed skull with lower jaws SAM-PK-K10106 (from the Paalhuisberg locality in Beaufort West), and the complete juvenile skull with lower laws SAM-PK-K10587 (from the Doornhoek locality in Beaufort West). All of these specimens are either held at the Iziko Museums in Cape Town or the Council for Geoscience in Praetoria. Before being referred to the new genus Bulbasaurus, they were initially treated as specimens of Tropidostoma in collections.
  Bulbasaurus was described by Christian Kammerer and Smith in 2017. The description states that the generic name combines the Latin bulbus, referring to the very large and bulbous nasal bosses, with the common suffix -saurus. As for the specific name phylloxyron, meaning literally "leaf razor", it is derived from the Greek phyllos and xyron, and apparently refers to the keratinous covering on the premaxilla, maxilla, and palate that would have been used to shear plant material. Thus, as published, the name of Bulbasaurus does not directly refer to Pokémon, or specifically the similarly-named Bulbasaur. However, Kammerer noted that "if one wished to read between the lines concerning certain similarities, I wouldn't stop them", and later added that "similarities between this species and certain other squat, tusked quadrupeds may not be entirely coincidental."
caption: Holotype skull of Bulbasaurus as it was found in situ
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