In Depth As an anteosaur, Stenocybus is a genus of dinocephalian therapsid that lived in China during the mid-Permian era. Further Reading - A new genus of primitive dinocephalian. - Vertebrate PalAsiatica. 35: 35-43 - Z. Cheng & J. Li - 1997.
In Depth Riebeeckosaurus would have been just another run of the mill tapinocephalid dinocephalian therapsid were it not for the extreme elongation of the skull. Though possibly for display, the elongation of the skull may denote a feeding adaptation and dietary specialisation. Further Reading - Nuwe tapinocephalidae, Riebeeckosaurus longisrostris gen. et sp. nov. Tydskr. Wet. … Read more
In Depth Not to be confused with the ceratopsian dinosaur Styracosaurus, Styracocephalus was a theraspid herbivore from what is now South Africa. At four and a half meters long, it was only slightly smaller than the more famous Moschops, but still appears to have had a similar lifestyle browsing upon vegetation. The most recognisable feature … Read more
In Depth Ulemosaurus is very much like the therapsid Moschops, not only in the type of creature that it was, but also in the fact that its skull was also up to ten centimetres thick. Its possible that like in the related Moschops, this bone thickness allowed for head butting or head pushing contests. Although … Read more
In Depth A close relative to the fearsome Anteosaurus from South Africa, Doliosauriscus would have been a key predator in Russia during the Permian. Further Reading - Les Dinocephales rapaces de la faune d’Ischeevo. - Trudy Paleontologischeskoso Instituta, Akademyia Nauk SSSR, v. 71, p. 1-114. - J. A. Orlov - 1958.
In Depth Brithopus is a little known genus of dinocephalian therapsid, and one that has a lot of questions concerning it. When first described, Brithopus was classed as a member of the Anteosauria, and when Brithopus became the type genus of its own group, the Brithopodidae, many anteosaurians were included with this sub group. However, … Read more
In Depth Although related to Titanosuchus, Jonkeria appears to be at the other end of the spectrum by being envisioned as an herbivore. However the similarity to Titanosuchus has led some to suggest that Jonkeria may actually be a carnivore, with the most obvious difference between the two being Jonkeria having shorter legs. Aside from … Read more
In Depth Sinophoneus would have been one of the most dangerous predators in the mid Permian of China, something that has earned the genus its name which means ‘Chinese murderer’. The type species of Sinophoneus was based upon the description of a partial skull, not surprising when you consider that dinocephalian therapsids like Sinophoneus are … Read more
In Depth Deuterosaurus was a dinocephalian therapsid that lived in what is now Russia during the mid Permian. Skulls of Deuterosaurus range in size from about 23 centimetres for smaller species, to about 80 for particularly large species. These larger species would make Deuterosaurus one of the larger land animals of the Permian. Dinocephalian therapsids … Read more
In Depth Though at the time of writing only known from skulls and jaw bones, it is clear that Tapinocaninus would have been a large dinocephalian therapsid given that the skull alone is some fifty centimetres long. Tapinocaninus is noted for having enlarged teeth that in the front portion of the mouth were angled to … Read more