Rhinesuchus
| Rhinesuchus Temporal range: Late Permian | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Temnospondyli |
| Suborder: | Stereospondyli |
| Family: | Rhinesuchidae |
| Genus: | Rhinesuchus |
Rhinesuchus is a large temnospondyl amphibian. Fossil remains of the genus are known from the Permian of the South African Karoo Basins Tapinocephalus and Cistecephalus assemblage zones, both of the Beaufort Group.
Skull in Karoo
Rhinesuchus.
In popular culture
Rhinesuchus was featured in the 2005 BBC series Walking With Monsters, which depicted it as a crocodile-like animal that wrapped itself in a cocoon during dry periods, like a lungfish; only it was unearthed and eaten by a Gorgonops during its last-ditch attempt to sit out the drought.
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