[10] The Daptocephalus Assemblage Zone was first named after the dicynodont Daptocephlaus leoniceps by James Kitching due to the high prevalence, and localized appearance, of this species.

[13][14][15] In addition it was thought that Dicynodon was a more suitable taxon for global biostratigraphic correlation of other Karoo-aged basins, namely to those in Zambia, Tanzania, China, and Russia.

In recent years, with new paleontological finds and updated logging of geological formations and biostratigraphy of the Karoo Basin, it was found that there has been some taxonomic confusion with Dicynodon fossils.

These formations all fall within the Adelaide Subgroup of the Beaufort Group, sediments of which were formed in a large retroarc foreland basin in south-western Gondwana.

These sedimentary rocks comprise greenish-grey mudrock with siltstone lenses in the lower to middle sections of the biozone,[1][5][3] which are indicative of a low-energy fluvial environments with meandering rivers.

The sedimentary rocks change to being sandstone-rich with these sandstone bodies commonly appearing within outcrops of brownish-red shale and reddish mudstone.

Parareptile species, namely captorhinids,[25][26] the Younginiforme Youngina,[27] and a variety of temnospondyl amphibians,[13] fishes, and plant fossils such as Glossopteris are likewise found.