Hipposaurus

Name: Hipposaurus ‭(‬Horse lizard‭)‬.
Phonetic: Hip-po-sore-us.
Named By: S.‭ ‬H.‭ ‬Haughton‭ ‬-‭ ‬1929.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Synapsida,‭ ‬Therapsida,‭ ‬Biarmosuchia,‭ ‬Hipposauridae.
Species: H.‭ ‬boonstrai‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: 1.2‭ ‬meters long.
Known locations: South Africa.
Time period: Capitanian of the Permian.
Fossil representation: At‭ ‬least two specimens.




       Although Hipposaurus possessed the large canine teeth also seen in other therapsid carnivores,‭ ‬it seems to have had a less robust skull construction.‭ ‬This means that large prey animals were probably completely off the menu for this Permian predator.‭ ‬Hipposaurus would still have been able to live off smaller prey,‭ ‬although it may have been at a disadvantage to other therapsid predators like Lycaenops.‭ ‬It’s also probable that Hipposaurus may have had a greater reliance upon scavenging to supplement its diet.

Further reading
- Die gorgonopsi�r-geslag, Hipposaurus, en die familie, Ictidorhinidae [The gorgonopsian genus, Hipposaurus, and the family, Ictidorhinidae]. - Tydstrif vir Wetenskap en Kuns 12:142-149. - L. D. Boonstra - 1952.



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