Anomocephalus
Name:
Anomocephalus
(Lawless head).
Phonetic: A-nom-o-sef-a-lus.
Named By: S. Modesto, B. Rubidge &
J. Welman - 1999.
Classification: Chordata, Therapsida,
Anomocephaloidea.
Species: A. africanus
(type).
Diet: Herbivore?
Size: Skull 21 centimetres long. About 1
- 1.2 meters total body length.
Known locations: South Africa.
Time period: Capitanian of the Permian.
Fossil representation: Right side of the skull and
fragmentary post cranial remains.
Anomocephalus is considered to be a very basal anomodont, and one observation more than any other proves this; Anomocephalus had a full set of teeth in both jaws. The dicynodont descendants of creatures like Anomocephalus would go on to have just two large tusks, and in a few cases, no teeth at all. Tiarajudens from Brazil has been considered to be a close relative of Anomocephalus.
Further reading
- The most basal anomodont therapsid and the primacy of Gondwana in
the evolution of the anomodonts, S. Modesto, B. Rubidge
&
J. Welman - 1999.
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