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''Smilesaurus'' is an extinct
''Smilesaurus'' was a large gorgonopsian, with a skull length of up to 31 centimeters. It is characterized by extremely long canine teeth, and has the proportionally longest canines of any gorgonopsian. Unlike other gorgonopsians, which probably hunted similarly to predatory reptiles, ''Smilesaurus'' probably was a true saber-toothed predator which hunted using similar tactics to
Below is a cladogram of Gorgonopsia from Bendel ''et al''., 2018:
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of gorgonopsian
Gorgonopsia (from the Greek Gorgon, a mythological beast, and 'aspect') is an extinct clade of Saber-toothed predator, sabre-toothed therapsids from the Middle Permian, Middle to the Upper Permian, roughly between 270 and 252 million years ago. ...
known from South Africa. It lived during 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 ...
. It contains the single species ''S. ferox''.
Description
''Smilesaurus'' was a large gorgonopsian, with a skull length of up to 31 centimeters. It is characterized by extremely long canine teeth, and has the proportionally longest canines of any gorgonopsian. Unlike other gorgonopsians, which probably hunted similarly to predatory reptiles, ''Smilesaurus'' probably was a true saber-toothed predator which hunted using similar tactics to saber-toothed cat
Machairodontinae (from Ancient Greek μάχαιρα '' machaira,'' a type of Ancient Greek sword and ὀδόντος ''odontos'' meaning tooth) is an extinct subfamily of carnivoran mammals of the cat family Felidae, representing the earliest ...
s. It can be distinguished by other rubidgeines by its lack of cranial pachyostosis and rugosoties, and by its relatively small orbits.
Classification
The classification of ''Smilesaurus'' has been disputed. It has often been included inRubidgeinae
Rubidgeinae is an extinct subfamily of gorgonopsid therapsids known only from Africa. They were among the largest gorgonopsians, and their fossils are common in the Cistecephalus and Daptocephalus assemblage zones of the Karoo Basin. They liv ...
, but it differs from other members of the clade considerably. Instead, it may be more closely related to '' Arctops'', a position supported by a phylogenetic analysis in 2018.
Below is a cladogram of Gorgonopsia from Bendel ''et al''., 2018:
See also
*List of therapsids
This list of therapsids is an attempt to create a comprehensive listing of all Genus, genera that have ever been included in the Therapsida excluding mammals and purely vernacular terms. The list includes all commonly accepted genera, but also gene ...
References
External links
* Gorgonopsia Prehistoric therapsid genera Fossil taxa described in 1948 Taxa named by Robert Broom {{paleo-therapsid-stub