Clelandina
Name:
Clelandina.
Phonetic: Cle-lan-de-nah.
Named By: Robert Broom - 1948.
Synonyms: Dracocephalus scheepersi,
Tigrisaurus.
Classification: Chordata, Synapsida,
Therapsida, Gorgonopsia.
Species: C. rubidgei
(type?), C. majora, C. maximus, C. scheepersi.
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Skull of C. scheepersi 19 centimetres
long, skull of C. rubidgei about 21 centimetres long. Body
length estimated to be around the 1 meter mark.
Known locations: South Africa.
Time period: Wuchiapingian of the Permian.
Fossil representation: Skulls, though often
compressed during fossilisation.
Although
often compressed, and incomplete, Clelandina
skulls have been noted
as being particularly broad while having short snouts. These are two
significant developments that may indicate that Clelandina
had a
particularly strong bite force. A wider skull would allow for greater
room for larger (and hence more powerful) jaw closing muscles,
while the short snout meant that food was nearer the point of jaw
articulation (the fulcrum of the jaw mechanism) that allowed force
to be focused upon whatever was in the mouth. A strong bite force
suggest a preference for hunting prey that had particularly tough
hides. It may also be that Clelandina had a
greater disposition
towards scavenging and having to process body parts like bones,
though the dentition of sharp conical teeth around the front of the
mouth does not support a scavenging lifestyle.
Another
genus of gorgonopsid,
Broomicephalus,
might be synonymous with
Clelandina.
Further reading
- A contribution to our knowledge of the vertebrates of the Karroo
beds of south Africa - Transactions of the Royal Society of
Edinburgh, v. 61, part 2, n. 21, p. 577-629. -
Robert Broom - 1948.
- Studies on new specimens of Gorgonopsia: - Palaeontographica
africana, v. 1, p. 1-28. - A. S. Brink & J.
W.
Kitching - 1953.
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