#dinocephalian

[vintagewildlife]

Moschops By: AMNH From: Life Nature Library: Reptiles 1963

[ildarotyrannus]

Line art of the titanosuchid dinocephalian Jonkeria truculenta from the Middle Permian of South Africa. This unusual therapsid was described in 1916 from a nearly complete skeleton with skull. Many other species were identified in subsequent years, but some are likely synonyms of each other or the type species (J. truculenta). Jonkeria's skull has an elongated, wide snout and a high occiput. The jaws contained powerful incisors and canines, as well as numerous spoon-shaped postcanine teeth. This combination of teeth possibly indicates omnivory. Jonkeria is also distinguished by its very massive body, supported by short but muscular limbs, the forelimbs being particularly strong. This animal belongs to the fauna of the so-called Tapinocephalus Zone Assemblage (named for the genus common to its deposits) and shared what would become South Africa with large herbivorous and predatory dinocephalians and a number of smaller animals.

Krita, 2026.

[dromaeosaurid]

"Emerging from a forest of seed-ferns and araucarians, a group of dinocephalians, Estemmenosuchus, approach a water hole. In the foreground is a gorgonopsid, Eotitanosuchus. Known from the Zone One of Russia, Estemmenosuchus is approximately 3 m (10 ft) in length, and Eotitanosuchus is about 2.5 m (8 ft) tall."

From Dinosaurs: A Global View (1990) by Sylvia J. Czerkas & Stephen A. Czerkas. Illustrated by Douglas Henderson, Mark Hallett, John Sibbick.

[peregrinethegryphon]

Something just occurred to me:

They’re Therapsids!

(Paleoart by Gabriel Ugueto and Roman Yevseyev)

[252mya]

Jonkeria poster

Jonkeria, a large dinocephalian from the Middle Permian. Also in the scene: a tiny Diictodon and Eunotosaurus.

252mya.com/jonkeria

Art by Greco Westermann

[blaiddydsaurus]

a good permian fella

[dynasoar5]

portrait of a therapsid man called Agostino 2022

[dinodorks]

[ Life reconstruction of Pampaphoneus biccai by Márcio Castro. ]

"Dinosaurs have quite the reputation for being the largest, fiercest predators in life's history. Yet, 40 million years before dinosaurs ruled, Pampaphoneus biccai dominated South America as the biggest and most bloodthirsty meat eater of its time. In a new study published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, an international team of researchers reveal the astounding discovery of a 265-million-year-old, exquisitely preserved fossil species, Pampaphoneus biccai, found in the rural area of São Gabriel, Southern Brazil. The stunning fossil includes a complete skull and some skeletal bones, such as ribs and arm bones. Pampaphoneus, which belongs to the early therapsid clade called dinocephalians, lived just before the largest extinction event in the history of Earth that eliminated 86% of all animal species worldwide. Before the extinction event, dinocephalians were one of the major groups of large terrestrial animals that thrived on land. They were medium to large-sized creatures with both carnivorous and herbivorous representatives. Dinocephalians had thick cranial bones, which led to the group's name which translates to "terrible head" in Greek. While well-known in South Africa and Russia, these animals are rare in other parts of the world. Pampaphoneus biccai is the only known species in Brazil."

Read more: "265-million-year-old fossil reveals oldest, largest predator in South America, long before the rise of dinosaurs" from Harvard University.