Lycaenodon

Ly-say-no-don.
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Benjamin Gutierrez

Vertebrate Paleontologist

Benjamin Gutierrez is a leading expert on dinosaurs, particularly the mighty theropods. His fieldwork in South America has uncovered new species and provided insights into dinosaur social structures.

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Name

Lycaenodon ‭ (‬wolf tooth‭)‬.

Phonetic

Ly-say-no-don.

Named By

Robert Broom‭ ‬-‭ ‬1925.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Synapsida,‭ ‬Therapsida,‭ ‬Biarmosuchia.

Diet

Carnivore.

Species

L.‭ ‬longiceps‭

Size

Unavailable.

Known locations

South Africa,‭ ‬Karoo basin‭ ‬-‭ ‬Cistecephalus Assemblage Zone.

Time Period

Late Permian.

Fossil representation

Skulls.

In Depth

       Lycaenodon has occasionally been considered to be a gorgonopsid,‭ ‬but modern analysis firmly places Lycaenodon as a biarmosuchian therapsid.‭ ‬Like others of its kind,‭ ‬Lycaenodon would have been a predator of other animals.

       Lycaenodon should not be confused with the similarly named gorgonopsid Lycaenops that was also named By Robert Broom in‭ ‬1925.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬The Naris and Palate of Lycaenodon longiceps‭ (‬Therapsida:‭ ‬Biarmosuchia‭)‬,‭ ‬with Comments on Their Early Evolution in the Therapsida.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Journal of Paleontology vol‭ ‬77‭ ‬no.‭ ‬5‭ ‬pp.‭ ‬977-984‭ ‬-‭ ‬Christian A.‭ ‬Sidor‭ ‬-‭ ‬2003.- A New Burnetiamorph (Therapsida: Biarmosuchia) from the Middle Permian of South Africa. – Journal of Paleontology. 80 (4): 740. – B. S. Rubidge, C. A. Sidor & S. P. Modesto – 2006.

SPECIES SPOTLIGHT