Titanosuchus
| Titanosuchus Temporal range: Capitanian, 265 Ma | |
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Synapsida |
| Order: | Therapsida |
| Suborder: | †Dinocephalia |
| Family: | †Titanosuchidae |
| Genus: | †Titanosuchus Owen, 1876 |
| Type species | |
| †T. ferox Owen, 1876 | |
| Synonyms | |
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Titanosuchus ferox ("Fierce Titan crocodile") was a dinocephalian therapsid that lived in the Mid Permian epoch in South Africa.
Along with its close relatives, Jonkeria and Moschops, Titanosuchus inhabited present-day South Africa around 265 million years ago, in the Late Permian. Titanosuchus was a carnivore which measured over 2.5 m long and might have eaten both Jonkeria and Moschops, among other vertebrates.[1] Its teeth included sharp incisors and fang-like canines, perfect for biting prey.[2]
Titanosuchus rivals that to Titanophoneus, which is also a carnivore and a dinocephalian, but it lived only in Russia. Titanosuchus should not be confused with the therapsid Eotitanosuchus, which belonged to a different family.
Parascapanodon and Scapanodon were thought to be distinct species, but later turned out to be the same species as Titanosuchus.[3]
See also
References
- ↑ http://palaeos.com/vertebrates/therapsida/tapinocephalia.html
- ↑ Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 189. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.
- ↑ Boonstra, L. D., 1969, The fauna of the Tapinocephalus zone (Beaufort beds of the Karoo): Annals of the South African Museum, v. 56, part 1, p. 1-73.
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