A new therioherpetid cynodont from the Santa Maria Formation (middle Late Triassic), southern Brazil

A new cynodont with sectorial postcanines, from the Santa Maria Formation of southern Brazil, is described. Charruodon tetracuspidatus n. gen. n. sp., represented by a fragmentary lower jaw, shows a postcanine morphology close to that of Therioherpeton cargnini, thereby justifying a tentative inclusion of the new species within the family Therioherpetidae. Comparisons among cynodonts with sectorial teeth are suggestive of a sequence of morphological changes in the sectorial postcanines of advanced cynodonts.