Jonkeria
Name: Jonkeria
(From Jonkers).
Phonetic: Yon-keh-ree-ah.
Named By: Van Hoepan - 1916.
Synonyms: Dinophoneus ingens, Dinopolus
atrox, Dinosphageus haughtoni, Scapanodon duplessisi.
Classification: Chordata, Synapsida,
Therapsida, Dinocephalia, Tapinocephalia, Titanosuchidae.
Species: J. truculenta (type),
J.
boonstrai, J. haughtoni, J. ingens, J. koupensis, J.
parva, J. rossouwi, J. vanderbyli.
Type: Usually depicted as a herbivore, some have
envisioned it as a carnivore.
Size: Usually around 3 meters long, some
specimens are up to 5 meters long.
Known locations: South Africa - Karoo.
Time period: Mid Permian.
Fossil representation: Many individual fossils.
Although
related to Titanosuchus,
Jonkeria appears to be at the other end of
the spectrum by being envisioned as an herbivore. However the
similarity to Titanosuchus has led some to suggest
that Jonkeria may
actually be a carnivore, with the most obvious difference between the
two being Jonkeria having shorter legs.
Aside
from having a similar morphology to Titanosuchus,
the main anti
herbivore argument for Jonkeria comes from the
presence of large
incisor and canine teeth. Aside from indicating a lineage to
carnivorous ancestors, these teeth were capable of making short work
of flesh. One possibility is that Jonkeria was
actually omnivorous
and used its size to not only kill large herbivores but to dominate the
smaller carnivores, stealing their kills. Such behaviour can be
seen in modern day bears which are opportunistic omnivores, killing
their own prey, stealing the prey of other carnivores like wolves,
and eating suitable plants when able. If the analogy is true, then
Jonkeria would have been feared by everything.
Jonkeria
once had a large number of species attributed to it, but
re-examination of the remains has found that many of these species
were already described under different Jonkeria
species names. Many
of the species listed above may yet also prove synonymous with the type
species J. truculenta among others.
Further reading
- The Fauna of the Tapincephalus Zone (Beaufort Beds of the Karoo). -
Annals South African Museum 56(1) 1-73 p35-38 - 1969.
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