Sycosaurus

Sy-coe-sore-us.
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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

Sycosaurus.

Phonetic

Sy-coe-sore-us.

Named By

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Synapsida, Therapsida, Gorgonopsidae, Rubidgeinae.

Diet

Carnivore.

Species

S.‭ ‬laticeps‭

Size

About‭ ‬1.2‭ ‬meters long for S.‭ ‬laticeps,‭ ‬to up to‭ ‬2.5‭ ‬meters long for S.‭ ‬kingoriensis.

Known locations

South Africa.Tanzania.

Time Period

Wuchiapingian of the Permian.

Fossil representation

Various individuals.

In Depth

       Sycosaurus is a genus of gorgonopsid that lived in southern Africa during the late Permian period.‭ ‬As a gorgonopsid,‭ ‬Sycosaurus would have been a predator of other large vertebrates.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬On some Gorgonopsian skulls in the collection of the South African Museum.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Annals of the South African Museum,‭ ‬v.‭ ‬12,‭ ‬p.‭ ‬499-517.‭ ‬-‭ ‬S.‭ ‬H.‭ ‬Haughton‭ ‬-‭ ‬1924. -‭ ‬Die Theriodontier der ostafrikanischen Ruhuhu-Gebietes in der Tubinger Sammlung‭ [‬The Theriodontier the East African Ruhuhu-area in the Tubinger collection‭]‬.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Ne�es Jahrbuch fur Geologie und Palaontologie,‭ ‬Abhandlungen,‭ ‬v.‭ ‬82,‭ ‬part‭ ‬1,‭ ‬p.‭ ‬47-136.‭ ‬-‭ ‬F.‭ ‬von Huene‭ ‬-‭ ‬1950.

SPECIES SPOTLIGHT