Moschorhinus
Sign in to saveMoschorhinus is an extinct genus of therocephalian synapsid in the family Akidnognathidae with only one species: M. kitchingi, which has been found in the Late Permian to Early Triassic of the South African Karoo Supergroup. It was a large carnivorous therapsid, reaching in total body length with the largest skull comparable to that of a lion in size, and had a broad, blunt snout which bore long, straight canines.
Wikidata facts
- Parent taxon
- Akidnognathidae
- Image
- Moschorhinus kitch0921.jpg
Show 5 more facts
- start time
- 259000000-
- end time
- 252000000-
- taxon name
- Moschorhinus
- Commons category
- Moschorhinus
- taxon rank
- genus
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
~9 min read
Encyclopedic overview
11 sectionsContents
- Taxonomy
- Classification
- Description
- Snout
- Teeth
- Skull roof
- Eye sockets
- Palate
- Paleobiology
- Paleoecology
- References
Moschorhinus is an extinct genus of therocephalian synapsid in the family Akidnognathidae with only one species: M. kitchingi, which has been found in the Late Permian to Early Triassic of the South African Karoo Supergroup. It was a large carnivorous therapsid, reaching in total body length with the largest skull comparable to that of a lion in size, and had a broad, blunt snout which bore long, straight canines.
Moschorhinus appears to have ecologically replaced the gorgonopsids as an apex predator, and hunted much like a big cat. While most abundant in the Late Permian, it survived into the Early Triassic in small numbers after the Permian Extinction, though these Triassic survivors had stunted growth.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Moschorhinus” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.