Tapinocephalidae
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| Tapinocephalidae Fossil range: Middle Permian to Late Permian |
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 Tapinocaninus pamelae head.
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See "Taxonomy" |
The Tapinocephalidae are an advanced family of Tapinocephalia. They were all herbivores. They were giants of their time, weighing from 500 to 1000 kg and possibly over 1 or 2 tonnes in weight. They are known from South Africa and Russia. The tapinocephalid skull is very thick, probably used for head-butting, probably for mating or territory, and they were dome-shaped. The thick, dome-shaped skull is reminiscent of the Pachycephalosaurian dinosaurs. They probably lived in swamps or dry uplands (deserts), or in wetlands. The last tapinocephalid went extinct by Late Permian, probably because of low vegetation and the drying, hot world which may have led to the event Permian-Triassic extinction.
[edit] Taxonomy
- Suborder Dinocephalia
- Infraorder Tapinocephalia
- FAMILY TAPINOCEPHALIDAE
- Tapinocaninus
- “Tapinocephalinae”
- Delphinognathus
- Avenantia
- Struthiocephalus
- Tapinocephalus
- Keratocephalus
- Moschops
- Riebeeckosaurus
- Mormosaurus
- Moschosaurus
- Phocosaurus
- Ulemosaurus
- Tapinocaninus
- FAMILY TAPINOCEPHALIDAE
- Infraorder Tapinocephalia
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