Nochnitsa

Extinct genus of therapsids

Nochnitsa is an extinct genus of gorgonopsian therapsids who lived during an uncertain stage of the Permian in what is now European Russia. Only one species is known, N. geminidens, described in 2018 from a single specimen including a complete skull and some postcranial remains, discovered in the red beds of Kotelnich, Kirov Oblast. The genus is named in reference to Nocnitsa, a nocturnal creature from Slavic mythology. This name is intended as a parallel to the Gorgons, which are named after many genera among gorgonopsians, as well as for the nocturnal behavior inferred for the animal. The only known specimen of Nochnitsa is one of the smallest gorgonopsians identified to date, with a skull measuring close to 8 cm (3.1 in) in length. The rare postcranial elements indicate that the animal's skeleton should be particularly slender.

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