Data from: A new tusked cistecephalid dicynodont (Therapsida, Anomodontia) from the upper Permian Upper Madumabisa Mudstone Formation, Luangwa Basin, Zambia

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.