Otsheria

{{Short description|Extinct genus of therapsids}}

{{Speciesbox

| fossil_range = Middle Permian, {{fossil_range|267}}

| image = Otsheria22DB.jpg

| image_upright = 0.9

| image_caption = Life restoration of Otsheria

| genus = Otsheria

| parent_authority = Tchudinov, 1960

| species = netzvetajevi

| authority = Tchudinov, 1960

}}

Otsheria is an extinct genus of anomodont, in the infraorder Venyukovioidea. It lived in modern-day Russia during the Permian.Modesto, S. P. & Rybcynski, N. [https://books.google.com/books?id=VRPwsF3cpPAC&dq=Ulemica&pg=PA26 The amniote faunas of the Russian Permian: implications for Late Permian terrestrial vertebrate biogeography]. In Benton, M. J.; Shishkin, M. A.; Unwin, D. M.; Kurochkin, E. N. The Age of Dinosaurs in Russia and Mongolia. Cambridge University Press, 2001. 672 p.

The genus is named for the Ochyor region where it was discovered in 1960, and the type species is Otsheria netzvetajevi.{{cite journal |last1=Ivakhnenko |first1=M.F. |title=Eotherapsids from the East European Placket (Late Permian) |journal=Paleontological Journal |date=2003 |volume=37 |issue=S4 |pages=339–465 |url=https://repository.geologyscience.ru/handle/123456789/35366 |access-date=6 March 2023}}

The holotype, a skull lacking a mandible (PIN 1758/5), is the only Otsheria fossil extant. The skull is {{convert|10.5|cm|in}} in length, with large eye sockets and a short, broad snout. The skull suggests four incisors and nine short, flattened maxillary teeth. The canines are undifferentiated. The shape of the teeth and skull both suggest a mouth adapted for cutting plant parts, which in turn suggests a herbivorous or omnivorous diet.{{cite book |last=Kemp |first=T. S. |year=2005 |title=The Origin and Evolution of Mammals |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=39–42 |isbn=978-0-19-850761-1}}

File:Otsheria.jpg