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Kudnu Temporal range: Early Triassic, ~251–247 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Holotype skull (top) and referred skull (bottom)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Clade:	Neodiapsida
Genus:	†Kudnu Bartholomai, 1979
Species:	†K. mackinlayi
Binomial name
†Kudnu mackinlayi Bartholomai, 1979

Kudnu is an extinct genus of neodiapsid reptile from the Early Triassic Arcadia Formation of Australia. The type species is K. mackinlayi.

Discovery and naming

The holotype is QM F9181, an anterior section of a cranium with articulated dentary rami, and it was discovered in the Crater, southwest of Rolleston, Queensland. The referred skull QM F9182 is also known. Kudnu mackinlayi was named and described by Alan Bartholomai in 1979.

Classification

Kudnu was initially classified within Paliguanidae by Bartholomai (1979). Benton (1985) classified Kudnu within Lepidosauromorpha, while Evans (2003) classified Kudnu within Prolacertiformes, and Evans & Jones (2010) later assigned Kudnu to the Procolophonidae. More recent authors, such as Poropat et al. (2023), consider Kudnu to be a basal member of Neodiapsida.

Paleoecology

The world Kudnu inhabited was still recovering from the recent Permian–Triassic extinction event, and as a result global biodiversity had remained low throughout much of the Early Triassic. The world at this time was generally a hot and arid environment, reaching a temperature of 50 °C or even 60 °C at times.

Currently a high diversity of fauna has so far been recorded from the Arcadia Formation that lived alongside Kudnu. This includes a high diversity of amphibians including 14 genera, the archosauriform Kalisuchus rewanensis, the archosauromorph Kadimakara australiensis, the procolophonid Eomurruna yurrgensis as well as an indeterminate dicynodont.

There is also evidence of a diversity of indermitae ichnotaxa based on coprolites.

References

1. ^ Alan, Bartholomai (2008). "New lizard-like reptiles from the Early Triassic of Queensland". Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology. 3 (3): 225–234. doi:10.1080/03115517908527795.
2. ^ Bartholomai, Alan (1979). "New lizard-like reptiles from the Early Triassic of Queensland". Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology. 3 (3): 225–234. doi:10.1080/03115517908527795. ISSN 0311-5518.
3. Metcalfe, I.; Crowley, J.L.; Nicoll, R.S.; Schmitz, M. (2015). "High-precision U-Pb CA-TIMS calibration of Middle Permian to Lower Triassic sequences, mass extinction and extreme climate-change in eastern Australian Gondwana". Gondwana Research. 28 (1): 61–81. doi:10.1016/j.gr.2014.09.002. ISSN 1342-937X.
4. ^ Poropat, Stephen F.; Bell, Phil R.; Hart, Lachlan J.; Salisbury, Steven W.; Kear, Benjamin P. (2023-04-03). "An annotated checklist of Australian Mesozoic tetrapods". Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology. 47 (2): 129–205. doi:10.1080/03115518.2023.2228367. hdl:20.500.11937/96166. ISSN 0311-5518.
5. BENTON, MICHAEL J. (1985). "Classification and phylogeny of the diapsid reptiles". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 84 (2): 97–164. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1985.tb01796.x. ISSN 0024-4082.
6. EVANS, SUSAN E. (2003). "At the feet of the dinosaurs: the early history and radiation of lizards". Biological Reviews. 78 (4): 513–551. doi:10.1017/s1464793103006134. ISSN 1464-7931.
7. Evans, Susan E.; Jones, Marc E.H. (2010), "The Origin, Early History and Diversification of Lepidosauromorph Reptiles", New Aspects of Mesozoic Biodiversity, Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, pp. 27–44, ISBN 978-3-642-10310-0, retrieved 2023-12-29
8. Sahney, S.; Benton, M.J. (2008). "Recovery from the most profound mass extinction of all time". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 275 (1636): 759–65. doi:10.1098/rspb.2007.1370. PMC 2596898. PMID 18198148.
9. Marshall, Michael (18 October 2012). "Roasting Triassic heat exterminated tropical life".
10. M. H, Monroe. "The Triassic Labyrinthodonts of Australia". Australia: The Land Where Time Began. M. H Monroe.
11. Thulborn, R. A. (1979). "A proterosuchian thecodont from the Rewan Formation of Queensland". Memoirs of the Queensland Museum. 19: 331–355.
12. Hamley, Tim; Cisneros, Juan; Damiani, Ross (2020). "A procolophonid reptile from the Lower Triassic of Australia". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 192 (2): 554–609. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa056.
13. Rozefelds, Andrew C.; Warren, Anne; Whitfield, Allison; Bull, Stuart (2011). "New Evidence of Large Permo-Triassic Dicynodonts (Synapsida) from Australia". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 31 (5): 1158–1162. doi:10.1080/02724634.2011.595858. S2CID 140599970.
14. Caroline, Northwood (2005). "Early Triassic coprolites from Australia and their palaeobiological significance". The Journal of the Palaeontological Association. doi:10.1080/02724634.2011.595858. S2CID 140599970.

v t e Sauropsida (Reptilia sensu lato)
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Superclass: Tetrapoda Clade: Amniota Tetrapodomorpha see Tetrapodomorpha Reptiliomorpha see Reptiliomorpha Sauropsida see below↓
Sauropsida Sauropsida †Australothyris †Erpetonyx †Microleter †Acleistorhinidae Acleistorhinus Carbonodraco Colobomycter Delorhynchus Feeserpeton Karutia Klastomycter †Bolosauridae Belebey Bolosaurus Eudibamus †Mesosauria Brazilosaurus Mesosaurus Stereosternum †Millerettidae Broomia Heleophilus Milleretta Millerosaurus Milleropsis Nanomilleretta †Procolophonia see Procolophonia Diapsida see below↓
Diapsida Diapsida †Adelosaurus? †Claudiosaurus †Cryptovaranoides †Dolerosaurus †Elachistosuchus †Eunotosaurus? †Feralisaurus †Heleosuchus †Kenyasaurus †Kudnu †Lanthanolania †Maiothisavros †Microzemiotes †Orovenator †Palacrodon †Palaeagama †Saurosternon †Sphodrosaurus †Younginidae Galesphyrus Thadeosaurus Youngina †Tangasauridae Acerosodontosaurus? Hovasaurus Tangasaurus †Weigeltisauridae Coelurosauravus Glaurung Rautiania Weigeltisaurus †Drepanosauromorpha Ancistronychus Avicranium Dolabrosaurus Drepanosaurus Hypuronector Kyrgyzsaurus Longisquama? Megalancosaurus Protoavis? Skybalonyx Unguinychus Vallesaurus †Kuehneosauridae Icarosaurus Idiosaura? Kuehneosaurus Kuehneosuchus Pamelina Rhabdopelix? †Choristodera see Choristodera †Ichthyosauromorpha see Ichthyosauromorpha †Sauropterygia see Sauropterygia †Thalattosauria see Thalattosauria Sauria (Crown-Reptilia) Lepidosauromorpha see Lepidosauromorpha Includes Lepidosauria includes rhynchocephalians and squamates Archelosauria Archosauromorpha see Archosauromorpha Includes Archosauria includes birds and crocodilians Pantestudines see Pantestudines Includes Testudines turtles
See also Possible sauropsids Araeoscelidia Captorhinidae Protorothyrididae Recumbirostra Varanopidae Other taxa Anapsida Captorhinida Eureptilia Parareptilia Lanthanosuchoidea Millerosauria Procolophonomorpha Ankyramorpha Neodiapsida Eosuchia Younginiformes Avicephala Eolacertilia Euryapsida
Category

• Diapsids
• Prehistoric reptile genera
• Induan genera
• Early Triassic reptiles
• Triassic vertebrates of Australia
• Mesozoic reptiles of Australia
• Fossil taxa described in 1979