Tapinocephalus


Tapinocephalus is an extinct genus of large herbivorous dinocephalians that lived during the Middle Permian Period. These stocky, barrel-bodied animals were characterised by a massive bony skull roof and short weak snout. It is thought that, like the rest of the members of its family, the animals engaged in head-butting intraspecific behavior, possibly for territory or mates.
The fossil remains of Tapinocephalus are known from the Lower, Middle, and Upper part of the Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone of the Lower Beaufort Beds of the South African Karoo. Only the type species, T. atherstonei is now considered valid for this genus.
In life, these animals were over in length and massed around, making them among the largest animals of their time.

Classification

Tapinocephalus atherstonei is known from a number of skulls and postcranial bones. The skull is large with a heavily pachyostotic skull roof, a massive bony frontals and a short weak Moschops-like snout. Taurops is a synonym. Phocosaurus megischion is another synonym differing only in that the transition from the frontals to the snout is not abrupt.