Arctops

Ark-tops.
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Lilah Turner

Evolutionary Biologist

Lilah Turner investigates how prehistoric animals adapted to changing environments, offering insights into evolution's mechanisms.

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Name

Arctops ‭(‬Bear face‭)‬.

Phonetic

Ark-tops.

Named By

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Therapsida,‭ ‬Gorgonopsidae.

Diet

Carnivore.

Species

A.‭ ‬willistoni‭

Size

30‭ ‬centimetre long skull,‭ ‬body up to‭ ‬2‭ ‬meters long.

Known locations

South Africa.

Time Period

Late Permian.

Fossil representation

3‭ ‬skulls.

In Depth

       Arctops was a South African gorgonopsid of the late Permian,‭ ‬but there is now a question over the validity of the genus.‭ ‬It has been considered that Arctops may be the adult form of Scylacognathus,‭ ‬another gorgonopsid that was named a year earlier than Arctops.

Further Reading

– Notes on some carnivorous reptiles. – Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 4:1021-1038. – D. M. S. Watson – 1914. – Anatomy and relationships of the South African gorgonopsian Arctops (Therapsida, Theriodontia). – Papers in Palaeontology. 3 (4): 583–611. – C. F. Kammerer – 2017.

SPECIES SPOTLIGHT