Paraburnetia

Paraburnetia is an extinct genus of biarmosuchian therapsids from the Late Permian of South Africa. It is known for its species P. sneeubergensis and belongs to the family Burnetiidae. Paraburnetia lived just before the Permian–Triassic mass extinction event.

The etymology of Paraburnetia sneeubergensis comes from para, meaning beside or near; Burnetia indicating the first named member of the clade; and sneeubergensis for the location the Sneeuberge mountains above where the specimen was found.

P. sneeubergensis is known by its knobby skull, which is a shared synapomorphy with B. mirabilis and P. viatkensis They are synapsids, from which, their clade of therapsids is derived from. Descending from one of the first therapsids, biarmosuchus, Paraburnetia evolved prominent canine teeth, a long zygomatic process that extends under the orbit, and shorter phalanges with fewer joints that the lizard-like pelycosaurs. They were small to medium in sized carnivores. Burnetiamorphs distinguished themselves from the basal forms of Biarmosuchians by developing bumpy knobs on their skulls, specifically towards the posterior of the skull and on the nasal.