New traversodontid (Therapsida: Cynodontia) teeth from the Upper Triassic of Habay-la-Vieille (southern Belgium)

Dwarf traversodontids (Therapsida, Cynodontia) are rare components of Late Triassic terrestrial faunas from western Europe. Habayia halbardieri n. gen., n. sp., described and discussed in the present paper, is based on one isolated upper postcanine from the Rhaetian of Habay-la-Vieille (southern Belgium). Another tiny tooth from the same locality is tentatively identified as a traversodontid lower postcanine. Dwarf cynodonts were well diversified in western Europe at the end of the Triassic. Their radiation, coupled with the sudden origin of mammals, corresponds to the development of the Rhaetian transgression which transformed western Europe into an archipelago and led to a reorganization of the terrestrial faunas.