Extinct genus of therapsids from the middle Permian of South Africa
Lycosuchus
Temporal range: Middle Permian, 265–260 Ma
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Lycosuchus vanderrieti skull (MB.R.995) at the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Clade:
Synapsida
Clade:
Therapsida
Clade:
†Therocephalia
Family:
†Lycosuchidae
Genus:
†Lycosuchus Broom, 1903
Species:
†L. vanderrieti
Binomial name
†Lycosuchus vanderrieti
Broom, 1903
Lycosuchus ("wolf crocodile") is an extinct genus of carnivorous therocephalians which lived in the Middle Permian 265—260 Ma existing for approximately 5 million years. As a member of the Lycosuchidae, the genus represents one of the earliest diverging therocephalians. The type and only species, L. vanderrieti, is known from a handful of well-preserved specimens featuring the cranium and lower jaw; the holotype US D173 housed at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, is a near complete occluded skull.[1] Specimen MB.R. 995, housed at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, Germany, consists of a near complete and isolated lower jaw, along with a partial snout and brain case.[2] With the help of μCT data, Pusch et al (2020) [2] described the endocranial anatomy of Lycosuchus vanderrieti.
Head
It was a medium-sized predator, reaching 1.2 m (3.8 ft) in length with a skull 23 cm long.,[3] typical of early therocephalians. L. vanderrieti bore two functional canines in each maxilla, possibly due to a protracted tooth replacement.[2] Both the upper canines and the single canine of the lower jaw are serrated.
Discovered in South Africa, it was named by paleontologist Robert Broom[4] in 1903 and later assigned by him to Therocephalia.
^J.A. Van den Heever (1987) The comparative and functional cranial morphology of the early Therocephalia (Amniota: Therapsida) p. 322
^ abcPusch, Luisa C.; Ponstein, Jasper; Kammerer, Christian F.; Fröbisch, Jörg (2020). "Novel Endocranial Data on the Early Therocephalian Lycosuchus vanderrieti Underpin High Character Variability in Early Theriodont Evolution". Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 7: 1–27. doi:10.3389/fevo.2019.00464.
^T.S. Kemp (2005) The origin and evolution of mammals p.55
^R. Broom (1913) A revision of the reptiles of the Karroo
Lycosuchus ("wolf crocodile") is an extinct genus of carnivorous therocephalians which lived in the Middle Permian 265—260 Ma existing for approximately...
the group have since been declared dubious, and it now only includes Lycosuchus and Simorhinella. Modern therocephalian taxonomy is instead based upon...
Late Permian. Another group of therapsids, the therocephalians (such as Lycosuchus), arose in the Middle Permian. There were no flying vertebrates, though...
Beaufort Group of South Africa. It currently contains two monotypic genera, Lycosuchus, represented by L. vanderrieti, which was named by paleontologist Robert...
Restoration of three genus of the theriodont clade: Arctognathus (Gorgonopsia), Lycosuchus (Therocephalia) and Progalesaurus (Cynodontia). Scientific classification...
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