| Estemmenosuchus | |
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| A restoration of Estemmenosuchus uralensis | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| clade: | Synapsida |
| Order: | Therapsida |
| Suborder: | †Dinocephalia |
| Family: | †Estemmenosuchidae |
| Genus: | †Estemmenosuchus Tchudinov, 1960 |
| Referred species | |
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| Synonyms | |
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Estemmenosuchus is a dinocephalian Therapsid from the middle Permian (around 267 million years ago) of what is now Russia. Roughly 3–4.5 meters (10-15 ft) in length and weighing up to a tonne, it was most likely a herbivore.
Like other herbivorous therapsids at the time, it sported a rotund build with stocky, sprawling legs and a short tail. Its hallmark physical attribute, however, are a series of ornamental, crown-like bony projections on its robust skull, which gave it its genus name (meaning "crowned crocodile" in Greek). Most scientists believe that they were used in courtship displays and for fending off rivals among males, and ample evidence of sexual dimorphism in the genus is present in the fossil record. Its dentition consisted of enlarged canine teeth and smaller molars.
There are two known species of this animal: the larger (and type) species, E. uralensis, which has bony projections only from its cheekbones, and the more familiar E. mirabilis, which also possesses projections on the top of the skull, which vaguely resemble antlers.
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