Sinophoneus

Name: Sinophoneus ‭(‬Chinese murderer‭)‬.
Phonetic: Sy-noe-fo-nee-us.
Named By: Z.‭ ‬Cheng‭ & ‬S.‭ ‬Ji‭ ‬-‭ ‬1996.
Synonyms: Stenocybus acidentatus‭?
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Synapsida,‭ ‬Therapsida,‭ ‬Dinocephalia,‭ ‬Anteosauridae,‭ ‬Anteosaurinae.
Species: S.‭ ‬yumenensis‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Skull about‭ ‬35‭ ‬centimetres long,‭ ‬total body length about‭ ‬2‭ ‬meters long.
Known locations: China‭ ‬-‭ ‬Xidagou Formation.
Time period: Wordian/Capitanian of the Permian.
Fossil representation: Partial skull.

       Sinophoneus would have been one of the most dangerous predators in the mid Permian of China,‭ ‬something that has earned the genus its name which means‭ ‘‬Chinese murderer‭’‬.‭ ‬The type species of Sinophoneus was based upon the description of a partial skull,‭ ‬not surprising when you consider that dinocephalian therapsids like Sinophoneus are commonly represented by just skulls.‭ ‬There is speculation however that another genus named Stenocybus acidentatus may actually represent a juvenile Sinophoneus.‭ ‬Both are known from partial skulls from the same fossil formation,‭ ‬and at the very least they are similar to one another.

Further reading
-‭ ‬First Record of a Primitive Anteosaurid Dinocephalian from the Upper Permian of Gansu,‭ ‬China.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Vertebrata PalAsiatica‭ ‬34‭(‬2‭)‬:123-134.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Z.‭ ‬Cheng‭ & ‬S.‭ ‬Ji‭ ‬-‭ ‬1996.
-‭ ‬Systematics of the Anteosauria‭ (‬Therapsida:‭ ‬Dinocephalia‭)‬.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Journal of Systematic Palaeontology‭ ‬9‭ (‬2‭)‬.‭ ‬doi:10.1080/14772019.2010.492645.‭ ‬-‭ ‬C.‭ ‬F.‭ ‬Kammerer‭ ‬-‭ ‬2011.



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