HOME | DD

Description

A selection of the extinct therocephalian therapsids known as akidnognathids, to scale.

Related to the gorgonopsids and the cynodonts (which includes mammals), therocephalians are a major branch of the therapsid tree. They lived from the middle Permian until the middle Triassic, but ultimately did not leave any living relatives. One family of predominantly carnivorous therocephalians were the akidnognathids of Southern Africa, Russia and China. Typified by a robust body with the typical large head in common with other therocephalians, some species of akidnognathids show distinct specializations.

* Annatherapsidus had a low slung body and flat head with backwards-pointing teeth. These are features in common with a lifestyle of a swimming fish-eater.

* The small Euchambersia had a short snout and long ridged canines, leading many to believe that it used venom when hunting. This is entirely plausible as venom in synapsids is well known within modern mammals, including various shrews, solenodons and platypus.

* One genus which managed to survive the Permian-Triassic mass extinction was Moschorhinus, a very large, almost sabre-toothed akidnognathid. Species on either side of the divide were top predators and very similar in appearance. The early Triassic species was noticeably smaller than the those of the late Permian, and this was probably due to the harsher conditions and reduced level of prey species.

Description

A selection of the extinct therocephalian therapsids known as akidnognathids, to scale.

Related to the gorgonopsids and the cynodonts (which includes mammals), therocephalians are a major branch of the therapsid tree. They lived from the middle Permian until the middle Triassic, but ultimately did not leave any living relatives. One family of predominantly carnivorous therocephalians were the akidnognathids of Southern Africa, Russia and China. Typified by a robust body with the typical large head in common with other therocephalians, some species of akidnognathids show distinct specializations.

* Annatherapsidus had a low slung body and flat head with backwards-pointing teeth. These are features in common with a lifestyle of a swimming fish-eater.

* The small Euchambersia had a short snout and long ridged canines, leading many to believe that it used venom when hunting. This is entirely plausible as venom in synapsids is well known within modern mammals, including various shrews, solenodons and platypus.

* One genus which managed to survive the Permian-Triassic mass extinction was Moschorhinus, a very large, almost sabre-toothed akidnognathid. Species on either side of the divide were top predators and very similar in appearance. The early Triassic species was noticeably smaller than the those of the late Permian, and this was probably due to the harsher conditions and reduced level of prey species.