Temporal range: Middle Permian–Middle Triassic 266–242 Ma
PreꞒ
Ꞓ
O
S
D
C
P
T
J
K
Pg
N
Possible descendant taxon Cynodontia survives to present
Life restoration of two representatives of the early therocephalian genus Alopecognathus
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Clade:
Synapsida
Clade:
Therapsida
Clade:
Eutheriodontia
Clade:
†Therocephalia Broom, 1903
Subtaxa
†Gorynychus
†Porosteognathus
†Lycosuchidae
†Scylacosauridae
†Eutherocephalia
Cynodontia?
Therocephalia is an extinct clade of eutheriodont therapsids (mammals and their close relatives) from the Permian and Triassic periods. The therocephalians ("beast-heads") are named after their large skulls, which, along with the structure of their teeth, suggest that they were carnivores. Like other non-mammalian synapsids, therocephalians were once described as "mammal-like reptiles". Therocephalia is the group most closely related to the cynodonts, which gave rise to the mammals, and this relationship takes evidence in a variety of skeletal features. Indeed, it had been proposed that cynodonts may have evolved from therocephalians and so that therocephalians as recognised are paraphyletic in relation to cynodonts.
The fossils of therocephalians are numerous in the Karoo of South Africa, but have also been found in Russia, China, Tanzania, Zambia, and Antarctica. Early therocephalian fossils discovered in Middle Permian deposits of South Africa support a Gondwanan origin for the group, which seems to have spread quickly across Earth. Although almost every therocephalian lineage ended during the great Permian–Triassic extinction event, a few representatives of the subgroup called Eutherocephalia survived into the Early Triassic. Some genera belonging to this group are believed to have possessed venom, which would make them the oldest tetrapods known to have such characteristics. However, the last therocephalians became extinct by the early Middle Triassic, possibly due to climate change, along with competition with cynodonts and various groups of reptiles — mostly archosaurs and their close relatives, including archosauromorphs and archosauriforms.
Therocephalia is an extinct clade of eutheriodont therapsids (mammals and their close relatives) from the Permian and Triassic periods. The therocephalians...
Therocephalia might not be monophyletic, with some species more closely related to cynodonts than others. However, most studies regard Therocephalia as...
groups: the Gorgonopsia and the Eutheriodontia. The latter consist of the Therocephalia and Cynodontia. Theriodonts appeared at the same time as their sister...
Christian E. (2023). "Revision of the Scylacosauridae (Therapsida: Therocephalia)". Palaeontologia africana. 56: 51–87. ISSN 2410-4418. Haughton, S.H...
event. Only the therapsid dicynodonts and eutheriodonts (consisting of Therocephalia and Cynodontia) are known to have continued into the Triassic period...
Christian E. (2023). "Revision of the Scylacosauridae (Therapsida: Therocephalia)". Palaeontologia africana. 56: 51–87. ISSN 2410-4418. "Fossilworks:...
back to Theriodontia, but he placed it into his newly erected subgroup Therocephalia, dissolving Gorgonopsia. In 1913, especially in light of an almost complete...
therapsids called Therocephalia that is closely related to mammals (mammals are part of Cynodontia, the sister taxon of Therocephalia in most studies)...
contribution to the morphology of the mammal-like reptiles of the suborder Therocephalia". Annals of the South African Museum, 31: 215–267 Benoit, J.; Norton...
R. M. H. (2011). "A new specimen of Promoschorhynchus (Therapsida: Therocephalia: Akidnognathidae) from the lowermost Triassic of South Africa and its...
contribution to the morphology of the mammal-like reptiles of the sub-order Therocephalia". Annals of the South African Museum. 31: 215–267. Broom, R (1935)....
"Reappraisal of the envenoming capacity of Euchambersia mirabilis (Therapsida, Therocephalia) using μCT-scanning techniques". PLOS ONE. 12 (2): e0172047. Bibcode:2017PLoSO...
The largest prehistoric animals include both vertebrate and invertebrate species. Many of them are described below, along with their typical range of size...
the suborder Therocephalia". Annals of the South African Museum. 31: 215–267. Ivakhnenko, M.F. (2008). "The First Whaitsiid (Therocephalia, Theromorpha)"...
Smith, R.M.H. (2011). "A new specimen of Promoschorhynchus (Therapsida: Therocephalia: Akidnognathidae) from the Lower Triassic of South Africa and its implications...
Bauria is an extinct genus of the suborder Therocephalia that existed during the Early and Middle Triassic period, around 246-251 million years ago. It...
Christian E. (2023). "Revision of the Scylacosauridae (Therapsida: Therocephalia)". Palaeontologia Africana. 56: 51–87. hdl:10539/35700. ISSN 2410-4418...
Kammerer, C. E. (2023). "Revision of the Scylacosauridae (Therapsida: Therocephalia)". Palaeontologia africana. 56: 51–87. ISSN 2410-4418. Huttenlocker...
Africa, supported an original hypothesis of T. S. Kemp’s concept of Therocephalia being paraphyletic, placing Cynodontia as the sister taxon to Theriognathus...
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