Basal Sphenacodontia constitute a transitionalevolutionary series from early pelycosaurs to ancestral therapsids (which in turn were the ancestors of more advanced forms and finally the mammals). One might say that the sphenacodontians are proto-therapsids (even though there is almost a 30-million-years gap between the separation of the ancestors of therapsids from other sphenacodontians and the first appearance of therapsids in the fossil record).
Characteristics
The defining characteristics include a thickening of the maxilla visible on its internal surface, above the large front (caniniform) teeth; and the premaxillary teeth being set in deep sockets. All other (sister group and more primitive) synapsid clades have teeth that are set in shallow sockets.
Classification
The following taxonomy follows Fröbisch et al. (2011), Benson (2012) and Spinder (2016) unless otherwise noted.[3][4][5]