In Depth With a length approaching two hundred and forty centimetres long, Dinodontosaurus was certainly large for a dicynodont, though relative genera such as Placerias and Kannemeyeria were even larger still. Dinodontosaurus are quite common, especially in South America where the majority of known fossils come from. The name Dinodontosaurus means ‘terrible toothed lizard’, and … Read more
In Depth Brasilodon is a genus of very small cynodont that lived in Brazil during the late Triassic. Brasilodon was named alongside another similar cynodont called Brasilitherium. Further Reading - The sister group of mammals: small cynodonts from the Late Triassic of southern Brazil. - Revista Brasileira de Paleontolog�a 5:5-27. - J. F. Bonaparte, A. … Read more
In Depth Ctenorhachis is a genus of sphenacodont that lived in North America during the Permian. Although the skull of Ctenorhachis is unknown, the available fossil material for the genus show that Ctenorhachis was a sphenacodontid. So far all members of the Sphenacodontidae were predators in life, so by extension we can conclude that Ctenorhachis … Read more
In Depth Lemurosaurus is a genus of biarmosuchian therapsid that lived in South Africa during the late Cretaceous. Although Lemurosaurus lived during the late Permian, the genus is still noted as being primitive in form. Further Reading - New fossil reptile genera from the Bernard Price Collection. - Annals of the Transvaal Museum 21 (1): … Read more
In Depth One of the dicynodonts, Placerias was a low browsing herbivore that had a strong beak and a pair of downwards pointing tusks. With a three and a half meter barrel of a body it was the largest known herbivore of its time. Fossils of forty Placerias discovered in Arizona suggest a herding lifestyle. … Read more
In Depth Njalila is a genus of gorgonopsid therapsid that lived in Africa during the mid Triassic. Njalila is not known by many fossils, but we can observe that the genus had relatively short jaws but also narrow skull proportions. It is quite probable that Njalila was a niche predator, perhaps mostly hunting smaller animals. … Read more
In Depth Lobalopex is a genus of burnetiamorph biarmosuchian therapsid that lived in South Africa during the Permian. As a burnetiamorph, Lobalopex would have been more closely related to genera such as Lophorhinus and Pachydectes than to Biarmosuchus. Further Reading - A New Burnetiamorph Therapsid from the Teekloof Formation, Permian of South Africa. - Journal … Read more
In Depth Palemydops is a genus of anomodont therapsid that lived in South Africa during the Permian. Further Reading - On some new genera and species of anomodont reptiles from the Karroo beds of South Africa. - Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 647-674. - Robert Broom - 1921.
In Depth Ianthodon is a genus of pelycosaur that lived in North America during the Carboniferous. Care should be taken not to confuse Ianthodon with the similarly named Ianthasaurus. Further Reading - Synapsid fauna of the Upper Pennsylvanian Rock Lake Shale near Garnett, Kansas and the diversity pattern of early amniotes. Recent Advances in the … Read more
In Depth Minicynodon is a genus of small cynodont that lived in South America during the late Triassic. Further Reading - La fauna local de Faxinal do Soturno, Tri�sico Tard�o de Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. - Revista Brasileira de Paleontolog�a 13(3):233-246 - J. F. Bonaparte, C. L. Schultz, M. B. Soares & A. G. … Read more