Titanosuchus
| Titanosuchus Temporal range: Capitanian,
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Synapsida |
| Clade: | Therapsida |
| Suborder: | †Dinocephalia |
| Family: | †Titanosuchidae |
| Genus: | †Titanosuchus Owen, 1876 |
| Species: | †T. ferox
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| Binomial name | |
| †Titanosuchus ferox Owen, 1876
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| Synonyms | |
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Titanosuchus ferox ("Fierce Titan crocodile") is an extinct species of dinocephalian therapsids 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 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
- ^ 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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