Aulacephalodon

Name: Aulacephalodon .
Phonetic: Aw-la-sef-ah-lo-don.
Named By: Harry Govier Seeley‭ ‬-‭ ‬1898.
Synonyms: Dicynodon baini.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Synapsida,‭ ‬Therapsida,‭ ‬Dicynodontia,‭ ‬Geikiidae.
Species: A.‭ ‬bainii‭ (‬type‭)‬,‭ ‬A.‭ ‬peavoti‭?
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: About‭ ‬1.5‭ ‬meters long.
Known locations: South Africa.‭ ‬Zambia.
Time period: Wuchiapingian of the Permain.
Fossil representation: Almost complete.

       Originally described as a species of Dicynodon,‭ ‬Aulacephalodon is a genus of dicynodont therapsid that lived in Southern Africa towards the end of the Permian.‭ ‬At around one and a half meters long,‭ ‬Aulacephalodon was mid-sized for the type of animal that it was,‭ ‬and like its relatives,‭ ‬Aulacephalodon is known to have had a tough beak like mouth as well as two downwards facing tusks.‭ ‬The type species A.‭ ‬bainii was named in‭ ‬1898‭ ‬by Harry Govier Seeley,‭ ‬and twenty three years later a second species A.‭ ‬peavoti was named by Robert Broom.‭ ‬The validity of this second species has now been questioned‭ (‬Govender‭ ‬2008‭)‬,‭ ‬with the notion that the species A.‭ ‬peavoti may not actually belong to the genus.

Further reading
-‭ ‬On Oudenodon‭ (‬Aulacocephalus‭) ‬pithecops from Cape Colony.‭ ‬-‭ ‬The Geological Magazine‭ ‬5:107-110.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Harry Govier Seeley‭ ‬-‭ ‬1898.
-‭ ‬On some new species of anomodont generates and reptiles from the Karoo beds of South Africa.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Proceedings Zoolological.‭ ‬Society London.‭ ‬XLIV,‭ ‬44-674‭ ‬-‭ ‬Robert broom.‭ ‬-‭ ‬1921.
-‭ ‬Description of the postcranial anatomy of Aulacephalodon baini and its possible relationship with‭ "‬Aulacephalodon peavoti.‭ ‬-‭ ‬South African Journal of Science‭ ‬104‭ (‬11-12‭)‬:‭ ‬479‭–‬486‭ ‬-‭ ‬R.‭ ‬Govender‭ ‬-‭ ‬2008.

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