''Titanosuchus ferox'' ("fierce titan crocodile") is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

species of

dinocephalia Dinocephalians (terrible heads) are a clade of large-bodied early therapsids that flourished in the Early and Middle Permian between 279.5 and 260 million years ago (Ma), but became extinct during the Capitanian mass extinction event. ...

n therapsids that lived in the

Middle Permian The Guadalupian is the second and middle series/epoch of the Permian. The Guadalupian was preceded by the Cisuralian and followed by the Lopingian. It is named after the Guadalupe Mountains of New Mexico and Texas, and dates between 272.95 ± 0. ...

epoch in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. Along with its close relatives, ''

Jonkeria ''Jonkeria'' is an extinct genus of dinocephalians. ''Jonkeria'' was a large and omnivore, omnivorous animal, from the Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone, ''Tapinocephalus'' Assemblage Zone, Lower Beaufort Group, of the South Africa, South African Ka ...

'' and ''

Moschops ''Moschops'' (Greek for "calf face") is an extinct genus of therapsids that lived in the Guadalupian Epoch (geology), epoch, around 265–260 million years ago. They were heavily built plant eaters, and they may have lived partly in water, as hi ...

'', ''Titanosuchus'' inhabited present-day South Africa around 265 million years ago, in the

Late Permian Late or LATE may refer to: Everyday usage * Tardy, or late, not being on time * Late (or the late) may refer to a person who is dead Music * ''Late'' (The 77s album), 2000 * Late (Alvin Batiste album), 1993 * Late!, a pseudonym used by Dave Groh ...

. ''Titanosuchus'' is frequently cited as being a carnivore; however, this is based on specimens now assigned to ''

Anteosaurus ''Anteosaurus'' (meaning "Antaeus lizard") is an extinct genus of large carnivorous dinocephalian synapsid. It lived at the end of the Guadalupian (= Middle Permian) during the Capitanian age, about 265 to 260 million years ago in what is now Sou ...

''. Instead, ''Titanosuchus'' was likely an omnivorous or herbivorous animal like the related ''

''. ''Titanosuchus'' is known from fragmentary jaw and postcranial material, which can be distinguished from ''Jonkeria'' by the greater length of the limb bones. ''Parascapanodon'' and ''Scapanodon'' were once thought to be distinct genera, but are now considered to be junior synonyms of ''Titanosuchus''.Boonstra, L. D., 1969, The fauna of the Tapinocephalus zone (Beaufort beds of the Karoo): Annals of the South African Museum, v. 56, part 1, p. 1-73.

References

Tapinocephalia Prehistoric therapsid genera Guadalupian synapsids of Africa Fossil taxa described in 1876 Taxa named by Richard Owen Capitanian genera {{Paleo-therapsid-stub

See also

References