Tapinocephalia
The Tapinocephalia are one of the major groups of dinocephalian therapsids and the major herbivorous group. Tapinocephalia has been found to consist of three clades: Styracocephalidae, Titanosuchidae, and the very successful Tapinocephalidae. Notable tapinocephalians include Moschops, Tapinocephalus, and Titanosuchus.
Tapinocephalia | |
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Moschops | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Therapsida |
Suborder: | †Dinocephalia |
Clade: | †Tapinocephalia |
Subgroups | |
In 1923 Robert Broom named an infraorder Tapinocephalia.[1]
Unlike anteosaurs and estemmenosuchids, tapinocephalians are primarily an African group. The estemmenosuchids and pareiasaurs may have occupied this paleo-bovine niche in the north. Only one tapinocephalian, Ulemosaurus, is known from Russia.
Earlier tapinocephalians were carnivorous or omnivorous. One such group was Titanosuchidae, which consisted of long-tailed predators that hunted herbivorous therapsids. Later tapinocephalians were herbivorous.
Notes
- Broom, R. 1923. "On the structure of the skull in the carnivorous dinocephalian reptiles". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1923: 661–684