Struthiocephalus
| Struthiocephalus | ||||||||||||
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Life picture of Struthiocephalus whaitsi |
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| Temporal occurrence | ||||||||||||
| Middle Perm ( Capitanium ) | ||||||||||||
| 265.8 to 260.4 million years | ||||||||||||
| Locations | ||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Struthiocephalus | ||||||||||||
| Haughton , 1915 | ||||||||||||
| species | ||||||||||||
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Struthiocephalus is an extinct genus of primitive therapsids ("early mammalian relatives") fromthe Tapinocephalidae family . The remains of this approximately 3 meter tall herbivore come from the Beaufort group in South Africa and aredatedto the stage of Capitanium ( Middle Perm ).
Physique and ecology
Struthiocephalus is known to have multiple skulls up to 50 cm long and some postcranial elements. The snout, which is unusually long for Tapinocephalids, is characteristic of the genus. As with all Dinocephalians , the male representatives of Struthiocephalus had the characteristic thickening of the skull ( pachyostosis ). This was probably used for mating and turf fighting.
It is believed that Struthiocephalus looked for food made of soft plant material in or around the water. The possibility that Struthiocephalus was adapted to life in a marshland ecosystem is also considered.
Synonyms
Struthiocephalus whaitsi is the only valid species of the genus Struthiocephalus . There are, however, numerous synonyms , which are presumably finds of juvenile or female specimens and which can be attributed to sexual dimorphism . Struthiocephalellus parvus is a junior synonym of Struthiocephalus whaitsi , just like the Moschosaurus longiceps originally attributed to a genus of its own by Haughton . Other synonyms are:
- Moschosaurus whaitsi Haughton, 1915
- Struthiocephalus rheederi Broom, 1937
- Struthiocephalus milleri Olson & Broom, 1937
- Struthiocephalus akraalensis Boonstra, 1952
- Struthiocephalus kitchingi Brink, 1958
literature
- Everette C. Olson, Robert Broom: New genera and species of tetrapods from the Karroo Beds of South Africa . In: Journal of Paleontology , Vol. 11 (1937), Issue 7, ISSN 0022-3360 pp. 613-619.
- Lieuwe D. Boonstra: The Fauna of the Tapinocephalus Zone (Beaufort Beds of the Karoo) . In: Annals of the South African Museum , Vol. 56 (1969), Issue 1, ISSN 0303-2515 , pp. 1-73.