Lycaenops Ornatus 1 on:
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''Lycaenops'' ("wolf-face") is a genus of
''Lycaenops'' measured about and weighed up to .Gorgonopsia
/ref> Like the modern-day wolves from which it takes its name, ''Lycaenops'' had a long and slender skull, with a set of dog-like fangs set into both its upper and lower jaws. These pointed canine teeth were ideal for the use of stabbing and/or tearing at the flesh of any large prey that it came upon. ''Lycaenops'' most likely hunted small vertebrates such as
The type species ''Lycaenops ornatus'' was named by South African paleontologist Robert Broom in 1925. Several other species have also been referred to the genus, including ''L. angusticeps'', which was originally named ''Scymnognathus angusticeps'', ''L. kingwilli'', which was originally named ''Tigricephalus kingwilli'' and is now placed in the genus '' Aelurognathus'', and ''L. tenuirostris'', which was originally named ''Tangagorgon tenuirostris'' and is now in the genus ''
Below is a cladogram from the phylogenetic analysis of Gebauer (2007):
The Paleobiology Database
* Broom 1925 : On some carnivorous therapsids. Records of the Albany Museum, vol. 3, n. 4, p. 309–326.
Edwin Р. Colbert «The mammal-like reptile Lycaenops» Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History
{{Taxonbar, from=Q132713 Gorgonopsia Prehistoric therapsid genera Guadalupian synapsids of Africa Fossil taxa described in 1925 Lopingian synapsids of Africa Taxa named by Robert Broom Guadalupian genus first appearances Capitanian genera Wuchiapingian genera Lopingian genus extinctions
carnivorous
A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other sof ...
therapsids. It lived during the Middle Permian to the early Late Permian, about 260 mya, in what is now South Africa.
Description
''Lycaenops'' measured about and weighed up to .Gorgonopsia/ref> Like the modern-day wolves from which it takes its name, ''Lycaenops'' had a long and slender skull, with a set of dog-like fangs set into both its upper and lower jaws. These pointed canine teeth were ideal for the use of stabbing and/or tearing at the flesh of any large prey that it came upon. ''Lycaenops'' most likely hunted small vertebrates such as
reptiles
Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the Class (biology), class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsid, sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, Squamata, squamates (lizar ...
and dicynodonts.
''Lycaenops'' walked and ran with its long legs held close to its body. This is a feature found in mammals, but not in more primitive amniote
Amniotes are a clade of tetrapod vertebrates that comprises sauropsids (including all reptiles and birds, and extinct parareptiles and non-avian dinosaurs) and synapsids (including pelycosaurs and therapsids such as mammals). They are disti ...
s, early reptiles, and synapsids such as pelycosaurs, whose legs are positioned to the sides of their bodies. The ability to move like a mammal would have given ''Lycaenops'' an advantage over other land vertebrates, since it would have been able to outrun them.
Species
The type species ''Lycaenops ornatus'' was named by South African paleontologist Robert Broom in 1925. Several other species have also been referred to the genus, including ''L. angusticeps'', which was originally named ''Scymnognathus angusticeps'', ''L. kingwilli'', which was originally named ''Tigricephalus kingwilli'' and is now placed in the genus '' Aelurognathus'', and ''L. tenuirostris'', which was originally named ''Tangagorgon tenuirostris'' and is now in the genus ''Cyonosaurus
''Cyonosaurus'' is a genus of gorgonopsian therapsids from the late Permian and possibly early Triassic of South Africa. ''Cyonosaurus'' was in length, with a skull in length. The type species ''Cyonosaurus longiceps'' was named in 1937.
See ...
''. Two additional species, ''L. microdon'' and ''L. sollasi'', were added to ''Lycaenops'' after having been classified as species of ''Aelurognathus''. The species ''L. minor'' is now considered a synonym of ''L. sollasi''.
Classification
Below is a cladogram from the phylogenetic analysis of Gebauer (2007):
See also
* Evolution of mammals * List of therapsids * '' Gorgonops''References
;Notes ;SourcesThe Paleobiology Database
* Broom 1925 : On some carnivorous therapsids. Records of the Albany Museum, vol. 3, n. 4, p. 309–326.
Edwin Р. Colbert «The mammal-like reptile Lycaenops» Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History
{{Taxonbar, from=Q132713 Gorgonopsia Prehistoric therapsid genera Guadalupian synapsids of Africa Fossil taxa described in 1925 Lopingian synapsids of Africa Taxa named by Robert Broom Guadalupian genus first appearances Capitanian genera Wuchiapingian genera Lopingian genus extinctions