Titanosuchus

Titanosuchus ferox ("Fierce Titan crocodile") is an extinct species of dinocephalian therapsids that lived in the Mid Permian epoch in South Africa.

Titanosuchus
Temporal range: Capitanian, 265 Ma
↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Therapsida
Suborder: †Dinocephalia
Family: †Titanosuchidae
Genus: †Titanosuchus
Owen, 1876
Species:
†T. ferox
Binomial name
†Titanosuchus ferox
Owen, 1876
Synonyms
  • Parascapanodon Boonstra, 1955
  • Scapanodon Broom, 1904

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 rivalled Titanophoneus, which was also a carnivore and a dinocephalian, but the former lived only in Russia. Titanosuchus should not be confused with the therapsid Eotitanosuchus, which belonged to a different family.

Parascapanodon and Scapanodon were once thought to be distinct genera, but are now considered to be junior synonyms of Titanosuchus.[3]

See also

References
  1. http://palaeos.com/vertebrates/therapsida/tapinocephalia.html
  2. Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 189. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.
  3. 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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