Temporal range: Lopingian (Wuchiapingian to Changhsingian), 259–251.9 Ma[1][2]
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Mounted skeleton of I. alexandri (PIN 1758), exposed at the Museo delle Scienze, Trento, Italy
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Clade:
Synapsida
Clade:
Therapsida
Clade:
†Gorgonopsia
Family:
†Gorgonopsidae
Subfamily:
†Inostranceviinae
Genus:
†Inostrancevia Amalitsky, 1922
Type species
†Inostrancevia alexandri
Amalitsky, 1922
Other species
I. latifrons Pravoslavlev, 1927
I. uralensis Tatarinov, 1974
I. africana Kammerer et al., 2023
Synonyms
List of synonyms
Synonyms of genus
AmalitzkiaPravoslavlev, 1927
Synonyms of I. alexandri
I. proclivisPravoslavlev, 1927
Synonyms of I. latifrons
Amalitzkia vladimiriPravoslavlev, 1927
Amalitzkia annaePravoslavlev, 1927
I. vladimiriVyushkov, 1953
Inostrancevia is an extinct genus of large carnivorous therapsids which lived during the Late Permian in what is now European Russia and Southern Africa. The first-known fossils of this gorgonopsian were discovered in the Northern Dvina, where two almost complete skeletons were exhumed. Subsequently, several other fossil materials were discovered in various oblasts, and these finds will lead to a confusion about the exact number of valid species in the country, before only three of them were officially recognized: I. alexandri, I. latifrons and I. uralensis. More recent research carried out in South Africa has discovered fairly well-preserved remains of the genus, being attributed to the species I. africana. An isolated left premaxilla suggests that Inostrancevia also lived in Tanzania during the earliest Lopingian age. The whole genus is named in honor of Alexander Inostrantsev, professor of Vladimir P. Amalitsky, the paleontologist who described the taxon.
Inostrancevia is the biggest-known gorgonopsian, the largest fossil specimens indicating an estimated size between 3 m (9.8 ft) and 3.5 m (11 ft) long. The animal is characterized by its robust skeleton, broad skull and a very advanced dentition, possessing large canines, the longest of which can reach 15 cm (5.9 in) and probably used to shear the skin off its prey. Like most other gorgonopsians, Inostrancevia had a particularly large jaw opening angle, which would have allowed to deliver fatal bites.
First regularly classified as close to African taxa such as Gorgonops or rubidgeines, phylogenetic analyses published since 2018 consider it to belong to a group of derived Russian gorgonopsians, now being classified alongside the genera Suchogorgon, Sauroctonus and Pravoslavlevia. According to the Russian and South African fossil records, the faunas where Inostrancevia is recorded were fluvial ecosystems containing many tetrapods, where it turns out to have been the main predator.
^Cite error: The named reference Kukhtinovetal2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Kammerer, Christian F.; Viglietti, Pia A.; Butler, Elize; Botha, Jennifer (2022). "Rapid turnover of top predators in African terrestrial faunas around the Permian-Triassic mass extinction". Current Biology. 33 (11): 2283–2290. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2023.04.007. PMID 37220743. S2CID 258835757.
Inostrancevia is an extinct genus of large carnivorous therapsids which lived during the Late Permian in what is now European Russia and Southern Africa...
later genera attained massive, bear-like sizes with the largest being Inostrancevia up to 3.5 m (11 ft) in length and 300 kg (660 lb) in body mass. Nonetheless...
and short limbs show the species to be a primitive therapsid, unlike Inostrancevia, which was more advanced. The structure of the limbs and the density...
Strepsodus in the companion book written by Fletcher 2023 Identified as Inostrancevia in the companion book written by Fletcher 2023 Identified as Pliosaurus...
Middle Permian, Ural Region Titanophoneus and Ulemosaurus – Ural Region Inostrancevia alexandri and Scutosaurus – Late Permian, North European Russia (Northern...
was designated as such until 1940, when it was assigned to the genus Inostrancevia by Ivan Yefremov, before being definitively classified in a separate...
Its fossil remains date from the Late Permian and were found with Inostrancevia, Scutosaurus and Vivaxosaurus. Dvinia was a small omnivore possessing...
of the largest gorgonopsians known to have lived, only outsized by Inostrancevia, and are characterised by their robust skeletal features, particularly...
survivors at Edward City. First, they traverse a volcano infested with Inostrancevia and a nesting site full of angry Allosaurus, and then come across a...
saber-teeth. (The various saber-tooth gorgonopsian genera, such as Inostrancevia and Ruhuhucerberus, are regarded as "stem-mammals" that are close relatives...
Carnivores are instead much more common, the largest identified being Inostrancevia (I. latifrons and I. alexandri); the other gorgonopsians are Pravoslavlevia...
Brant & Sidor (2024) describe a premaxilla of a member of the genus Inostrancevia from the Permian Usili Formation (Tanzania), representing the oldest...
gorgonopsid discoveries began in the 1890s with notable finds like Inostrancevia, one of the largest members of the group. There were fewer finds during...
Unknown September 4, 2011 (2011-09-04) N/A Sequences include: A pair of Inostrancevia during the Permian-Triassic extinction event. Eoraptor's mating rituals...
Gorgonops. For comparison, the largest Late Permian gorgonopsians such as Inostrancevia and Rubidgea reached skull lengths in excess of 40 cm (16 in). Collectively...
Russia. It lived during the latest Permian, and was a contemporary of Inostrancevia, Scutosaurus and Dvinia. Like all members of the genus, this animal...
land, the Changhsingian fauna comprised gorgonopsid synapsids like Inostrancevia, anomodont synapsids like Daptocephalus and Dicynodon, and parareptiles...
Permian period, 250 million years ago. The team soon realise that a Inostrancevia also came through and they must find it before it kills anyone. First...
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