Deuterosaurus is an extinct genus of dinocephalian therapsids, one of the non-mammalian synapsids dominating the land during the late Paleozoic.
Discovery and naming[]
It was named by Karl Eduard von Eichwald in 1960.
List of Species[]
Five vaild species have currently been named.
- D. biarmicus
- D. gigas
- D. jubilaei
- D. mnemonialis
- D. seeleyi
Illustration of D. Biarmicus.
Illustration of DD. Jubilaei's skull.
Anatomy[]
The skull of the species are well known because of the several finds. They were around 80 cm long (2 ft 6 in) with a long snout and conical teeth. Like all anteosaurs, the skull possessed long, dagger-like canine teeth. Though the skull was rather short for an average anteosaur genus, along with a broad cheek region, which is a possibility of a very strong bite force. Deuterosaurus was also the size of a Grizzly Bear, which is quite large. Thomas Henry Huxley, a biologist, mistakenly once thought it was a dinosaur. It would've also sprawled its 4 legs out, somewhat like an alligator or a crocodile.
Biology[]
Deuterosaurus is found in what is now Siberia, which in the Permian was dominated by temperate lowlands. Deuterosaurus was among the largest animals of its day, and has variously been interpreted as a herbivore or carnivore. While the large canines may indicate the ability to kill prey, the short legs and massive body would have made it unsuited as a long distance runner, and better suited to eating plants. It could've had an omnivorous diet, like a modern black bear. Like all primitive therapsids, Deuterosaurus would've layed eggs.