Biarmosuchus
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| Biarmosuchus Fossil range: Permian |
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 life restoration of Biarmosuchus tener
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| Biarmosuchus tener Tchudinov, 1960 |
Biarmosuchus tener was a therapsid that lived around 255 mya during the late Permian period. It was discovered in the Perm region of Russia. The specimen was found in channel sandstone that was deposited by flood waters originating from the young Ural mountains. The species is the most primitive of the mammal-like reptiles and had slender limbs. A large opening for the eye and a small temple opening common in primitive mammal-like reptiles, this lends to a weak bite but how it ate is pure speculation.
The teeth contained 8 small incisors on the palate, followed by a canine tooth and a further 5 canine teeth. So together the species contained 14 upper teeth and 12 lower teeth of small size. (Kemp 1982)
[edit] References
- Chudinov, P. K. 1965, "New Facts about the Fauna of the Upper Permian of the USSR", Journal of Geology, 73:117-30
- Olsen, E. C., 1962, Late Permian terrestrial vertebrates, USA and USSR Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, new series, 52: 1–224.
- Patricia Vickers-Rich and Thomas H. Rich 1993, The Great Russian Dinosaurs, Guntar Graphics, p.27
- Kemp, TS 1982. Mammal-like Reptiles and the Origin of Mammals. Academic Press, New York, 363 pp
