Hipposaurus
Name:
Hipposaurus
(Horse lizard).
Phonetic: Hip-po-sore-us.
Named By: S. H. Haughton - 1929.
Classification: Chordata, Synapsida,
Therapsida, Biarmosuchia, Hipposauridae.
Species: H. boonstrai
(type).
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: 1.2 meters long.
Known locations: South Africa.
Time period: Capitanian of the Permian.
Fossil representation: At least two specimens.
Although Hipposaurus possessed the large canine teeth also seen in other therapsid carnivores, it seems to have had a less robust skull construction. This means that large prey animals were probably completely off the menu for this Permian predator. Hipposaurus would still have been able to live off smaller prey, although it may have been at a disadvantage to other therapsid predators like Lycaenops. It’s also probable that Hipposaurus may have had a greater reliance upon scavenging to supplement its diet.
Further reading
- Die gorgonopsiër-geslag, Hipposaurus, en die
familie, Ictidorhinidae
[The gorgonopsian genus, Hipposaurus, and the
family, Ictidorhinidae].
- Tydstrif vir Wetenskap en Kuns 12:142-149. - L. D. Boonstra - 1952.
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