Titanosuchus
| Titanosuchus | ||||||||||||
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Artistic reconstruction of the life of Titanosuchus |
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| Temporal occurrence | ||||||||||||
| Permian ( Capitanium ) | ||||||||||||
| 265.1 to 259.9 million years | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Titanosuchus | ||||||||||||
| Owen , 1876 | ||||||||||||
| Art | ||||||||||||
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Titanosuchus is an extinct genus from the group of Dinocephalia . So far, the remains of at least 59 specimens are known that come from the Middle Permian of South Africa . Titanosuchus fossils are discovered within the Tapinocephalus zone, a biozone of the very fossil-rich Beaufort group that isdatedto the Capitanium . Titanosuchus wasscientifically described in 1876 by the British anatomist Richard Owen ; the type species is Titanosuchus ferox .
Systematics
Within the Dinocephalia, Titanosuchus is counted among the Titanosuchia , which includes relatively large and heavily built forms. Titanosuchus was probably most closely related to Jonkeria , which also comes from the Tapinocephalus zone. Both genera are also summarized as Titanosuchidae and represent rather original representatives of the Titanosuchia.
Characteristics and nutrition
The teeth of the upper jaw consisted of 5 incisors, 1 canine and 11 molars on each side; in the lower jaw there were 4 incisors, 1 canine and 10 or 11 molars on each side. Within the Titanosuchia, a trend from a carnivorous diet towards a herbivorous diet can be observed, with the teeth of Titanosuchus showing characteristics of both diets: The canines of Titanosuchus were smaller than the greatly enlarged canines of the carnivorous Dinocephalia, but still larger than the remaining teeth - in more advanced herbivorous representatives of the Titanosuchia, the canines were reduced to the size of the remaining teeth. The incisors already had widened tooth bases. Presumably these touched each other when the jaw was closed and created a continuous slit in the food - in contrast, the bite mark appears in other species as a series of tooth impressions. The relatively numerous, small and leaf-shaped molars were also unique in Titanosuchus and Jonkeria . These teeth did not touch when the jaw was closed; possibly they had a function of packing plant foods.
Traditionally, Titanosuchus is represented as a carnivore due to the enlarged canine teeth. Richard Owen wrote in 1879:
“We have, in fact, in Titanosuchus a carnivore of a more carnassial type than the Machairodus or other Felines… It most probably found its prey in the huge contemporary Pareiosaurs, Oudenodonts, and Tapinocephalans of its South-African locality”
"We have, in fact, with Titanosuchus a carnivore with more pronounced fangs than Machairodus or other cats ... Presumably he found his prey in the large contemporary pareiosaurs, oudenodonts and tepinocephalians of his South African site"
Current studies, however, suspect a herbivore or an omnivore .
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Merrill Nicolas, Bruce S. Rubidge: Changes in Permo-Triassic terrestrial tetrapod ecological representation in the Beaufort Group (Karoo Supergroup) of South Africa . In: Lethaia . tape 43 , no. 1 , March 2010, p. 48-49 , doi : 10.1111 / j.1502-3931.2009.00171.x .
- ↑ a b c d TS Kemp: The origin and evolution of mammals . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2005, ISBN 0-19-850760-7 , pp. 37-38 .
- ^ A b Richard Owen: Description of fragmentary Indications of a huge kind of Theriodont Reptile (Titanosuchus ferox, Ow.) From Beaufort West, Gough Tract, Cape of Good Hope . In: Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society . tape 35 , no. 1-4 , Jan 1879, pp. 198 , doi : 10.1144 / GSL.JGS.1879.035.01-04.06 .