Titanosuchus
| Titanosuchus Temporal range: Late Permian |
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| Scientific classification |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Synapsida |
| Order: | Therapsida |
| Suborder: | †Dinocephalia |
| Family: | †Titanosuchidae |
| Genus: | †Titanosuchus Owen, 1876 |
| Type species | |
| †T. ferox Owen, 1876 |
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Titanosuchus ferox ("Fierce Titan crocodile") was a dinocephalian therapsid that lived in the Mid Permian epoch in South Africa. Despite the name, it was not related to crocodiles.
Along with its close relatives, Jonkeria and Moschops, Titanosuchus inhabited present-day South Africa around 255 million years ago, in the Late Permian. Titanosuchus was a carnivore and might have eaten both Jonkeria and Moschops, among other vertebrates. Its teeth included sharp incisors and fang-like canines, perfect for biting prey.[1]
Titanosuchus rivals that to Titanophoneus[clarification needed], 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.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 189. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.
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