Sauroctonus

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Sauroctonus
Fossil range: Late Permian

Sauroctonus

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Synapsida
Order:	Therapsida
Suborder:	Gorgonopsia
Family:	Gorgonopsidae
Genus:	Sauroctonus

Species

S. progressus
S. parringtoni

Sauroctonus (Sauroctonus progressus) was a large (3 m. long) gorgonopsid that lived in Late Permian epoch before the Permian-Triassic extinction event that wiped out many life forms on Earth (250 million years ago).

Its flattened, triangular skull was about 25 centimeters long, with a parietal eye, a primitive character, on the crown. The upper and lower jaw each contained one pair of massive canines (the upper pair was larger); the other teeth were smaller, but were also sharp and pointed. In addition, minute, blunt teeth were present on the palatine bones. The lower jaw was widened to form a kind of chin. The long, lightly built, five-toed limbs bore a resemblance to mammals' limbs, but despite its 'mammalian' characteristics, Sauroctonus was not one of the ancestors of mammals.

Its fossils were found in South Africa and in Russia (Volga basin).