Aelurognathus

Name: Aelurognathus.
Phonetic: Ay-lu-ro-nay-fus.
Named By: Sydney H.‭ ‬Haughton‭ ‬-‭ ‬1924‭ (‬Orginally named Scymnognathus tigriceps by Robert Broom and Sydney H.‭ ‬Haughton in‭ ‬1913‭)‬.
Synonyms: Aelurognathus nyasaensis,‭ ‬Aelurognathus serratidens,‭ ‬Dixeya,‭ Gorgonorhinus, Leontocephalus, ‬Prorubidgea maccabei,‭ ‬Scymnognathus parringtoni,‭ ‬Scymnognathus tigriceps,‭ ‬Smilesaurus ferox,‭ ‬Sycosaurus broodiei, Tigricephalus kingwilli .
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Therapsida,‭ ‬Gorgonopsidae,‭ ‬Rubidgeinae.
Species: A.‭ ‬tigriceps‭ (‬type‭)‬,‭ ‬A.‭ ‬alticeps,‭ ‬A.‭ ‬broodiei,‭ ‬A.‭ ‬ferox,‭ ‬A.‭ ‬kingwilli,‭ ‬A.‭ ‬maccabei,‭ ‬A.‭ ‬parringtoni,‭ ‬A.‭ ‬quadrata.
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Skulls about‭ ‬30‭ ‬centimetres long.‭ ‬Body length estimated to be around‭ ‬1.5‭ ‬meters.
Known locations: South Africa,‭ ‬Karoo Basin.
Time period: Wuchiapingian of the Permian.
Fossil representation: Remains of several individuals.




       A South‭ ‬African gorgonopsian predator,‭ ‬Aelurognathus is noted for having small incisor teeth,‭ ‬something that might means that it scraped flesh from bones rather than crunch on the bones directly.‭ ‬Additionally remains of a dicynodont thought to have been fed upon by an Aelurognathus show that it was pulled apart from the rear.‭ ‬This would have been a less bony area than the front,‭ ‬so again this may suggest that Aelurognathus scraped flesh from carcasses rather than crush them.

Further reading
- Some new Karroo reptiles from the Graaff-Reinet district. - Annals of the Transvaal Museum 20:71-87. - R. Broom - 1940.
-‭ ‬Evidence of a therapsid scavenger in the Late Permian Karoo Basin,‭ ‬South Africa,‭ ‬N.‭ ‬Fordyce,‭ ‬R.‭ ‬Smith‭ & ‬A Chinsamy‭ ‬-‭ ‬2012.



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