Tag Archive for 'Therapsida'

Life reconstruction of the gorgonopsian from Mallorca in a floodplain setting. Image credit: Henry Sutherland Sharpe.

Therapsids Originated in Tropical Rather than Temperate Regions, New Fossil Find Suggests

Dec 17, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have discovered a new species of early gorgonopsian therapsid that was part of an ancient summer wet biome of equatorial Pangea. Life reconstruction...

An artist’s impression of Gordonia traquairi. Image credit: Scott Reid.

Paleontologists Reconstruct Enigmatic ‘Elgin Marvel’ Fossil

Jun 18, 2024 by News Staff

The ‘Elgin Marvel’ fossil is a block of reddish sandstone containing a natural mould of a skull and jaw of Permian dicynodont found in the Hopeman...

Life reconstruction of Pampaphoneus biccai. Image credit: Márcio Castro.

Fierce Predator Lived in South America 265 Million Years Ago

Sep 12, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Pampaphoneus biccai — a large carnivorous dinocephalian therapsid that lived in what is now Brazil during the Permian period — was, until now,...

Inostrancevia with its dicynodont prey, scaring off the much smaller African species Cyonosaurus. Image credit: Matt Celeskey.

Saber-Toothed Predator Connects Permian Northern and Southern Hemisphere Faunas

May 22, 2023 by News Staff

Inostrancevia was a tiger-sized, saber-toothed gorgonopsian that lived on the supercontinent Pangea during the Permian period, approximately 252 million...

Reconstruction of Euchambersia mirabilis; oblique ventro-lateral view showing the ridged dentition. Image credit: Alex Bernardini.

Proto-Mammals were First Terrestrial Vertebrates to Produce Venom, Paleontologists Say

Feb 16, 2017 by News Staff

When you’re a small pre-mammalian creature, sometimes the only way to protect yourself against fearsome predators like saber-toothed carnivores is to...