Criocephalosaurus

Criocephalosaurus
Temporal range: Capitanian
↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Synapsida
Order: Therapsida
Suborder: †Dinocephalia
Family: †Tapinocephalidae
Genus: †Criocephalosaurus
Kammerer & Sidor, 2002
Species
  • †C. gunyankaensis Boonstra, 1969
  • †C. vanderbyli Broom, 1928
Synonyms
  • Criocephalus preoccupied

Criocephalosaurus is an extinct genus of tapinocephalian therapsid which existed in Southern Africa. It was originally named Criocephalus, but the name was preoccupied by a beetle genus.[1] There are two named species, C. vanderbyli and C. gunyankaensis: the range of the latter may have been farther north than that of C. vanderbyli. Boonstra (1963) considers this taxon the most specialized of the moschopines.

Description

These animals were 2.5 to 3 metres (8 ft 2 in to 9 ft 10 in) in length and 700 to 1,000 kilograms (1,543 to 2,205 lb) in mass. Criocephalosaurus is known from at least half a dozen skulls are now known. The intertemporal region is very broad and the cranial roof greatly thickened by pachyostosis.

References

  1. ↑ Kammerer, C.F & Sidor, C.A. (2002). "Replacement names for the therapsid genera Criocephalus Broom 1928 and Olivieria Brink 1965". Palaeontologia Africana. 38: 71–72.
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