| Titanosuchidae Temporal range: Middle Permian, | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Life restoration of Titanosuchus ferox | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Synapsida |
| Clade: | Therapsida |
| Suborder: | † Dinocephalia |
| Clade: | † Titanosuchia Broom |
| Family: | † Titanosuchidae Broom, 1903 [1] |
| Genera | |
| |
Titanosuchidae is an extinct family of dinocephalians known only from the middle Permian Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone of South Africa. [2]
The titanosuchids were large, omnivorous [3] or herbivorous [2] animals. As with other tapinocephalians, they had thickened skulls that may have been used in head-butting, but to a lesser degree than in Tapinocephalidae or Anteosauridae. They had large canine teeth, strong incisors with a "talon and heel" morphology, and leaf-shaped postcanine teeth. Two titanosuchid genera are recognized as valid: Jonkeria and Titanosuchus ; they can be distinguished on the basis of limb proportions. [2]