Gorgonopsia

Gorgonopsia (from the Greek Gorgon, a mythological beast, and 'aspect') is an extinct clade of sabre-toothed therapsids from the Middle to the Upper Permian, roughly between 270 and 252 million years ago. They are characterised by a long and narrow skull, as well as elongated upper and sometimes lower canine teeth and incisors which were likely used as slashing and stabbing weapons. Postcanine teeth are generally reduced or absent. For hunting large prey, they possibly used a bite-and-retreat tactic, ambushing and taking a debilitating bite out of the target, and following it at a safe distanc

Inostrancevia is an extinct genus of large carnivorous therapsids which lived during the Late Permian in what is now European Russia and Southern Africa. The first-known fossils of this gorgonopsian were discovered in the context of a long series of excavations carried out from 1899 to 1914 in the Northern Dvina, Russia. Among these are two near-complete skeletons embodying the first described specimens of this genus, being also the first gorgonopsian identified in Russia. Several other fossil materials were discovered there, and the various finds led to confusion as to the exact number of val

Gorgonops (from 'Gorgon' and 'eye, face', literally 'Gorgon eye' or 'Gorgon face') is an extinct genus of gorgonopsian therapsid, of which it is the type genus. Gorgonops lived during the Late Permian (Wuchiapingian), about 260–254 million years ago in what is now South Africa.

Lycaenops ("wolf-face") is a genus of carnivorous therapsids. It lived during the Middle Permian to the early Late Permian, about 260 mya, in what is now South Africa.

Sauroctonus ("lizard killer") is an extinct genus of gorgonopsian therapsids who lived during the end of the Middle Permian in what is now European Russia. The first fossils, discovered in Tatarstan, were initially believed to belong to a new species of the South African genus Arctognathus (named A. progressus in 1938). The taxon was designated as such until 1940, when it was assigned to the genus Inostrancevia by Ivan Yefremov, before being definitively classified in a separate genus erected by Alexey Bystrow (in 1955). The most complete, known fossils of S. progressus include cranial and pos

Dinogorgon is a genus of gorgonopsid from the Late Permian of South Africa and Tanzania. The generic name Dinogorgon is derived from Greek, meaning "terrible gorgon", while its species name rubidgei is taken from the surname of renowned Karoo paleontologist, Professor Bruce Rubidge, who has contributed to much of the research conducted on therapsids of the Karoo Basin. The type species of the genus is D. rubidgei.

Arctops ("bear face") is an extinct genus of gorgonopsian therapsids known from the Late Permian of South and Eastern Africa. It measured up to in length and its skull was long. The type species is Arctops willistoni, named from a poorly prepared and incomplete skull. A second species was named A. watsoni based on a complete skull in 1953, followed by a third in 1970, A. kitchingi, from a smaller, juvenile skull. Both were formally synonymized with A. willistoni by Christian Kammerer in 2017. An additional species, A. umulunshi, was described in 2025 from the Madumabisa Mudstone Formation of Z

Rubidgea is a genus of gorgonopsian from the upper Permian of South Africa and Tanzania, containing the species Rubidgea atrox. The generic name Rubidgea is sometimes believed to be derived from the surname of renowned Karoo paleontologist, Professor Bruce Rubidge, who has contributed to much of the research conducted on therapsids of the Karoo Basin. However, this generic name was actually erected in honor of Rubidge's paternal grandfather, Sidney Rubidge, who was a renowned fossil hunter. Its species name atrox is derived from Latin, meaning "fierce, savage, terrible". Rubidgea is part of th

thumb|left|Life restoration of C. longiceps Cyonosaurus is a genus of gorgonopsian therapsids from the late Permian of South Africa. Some skulls have been reported from Early Triassic strata, but further investigation revealed that these reports were erroneous. Cyonosaurus was in length, with a skull in length. The type species Cyonosaurus longiceps was named in 1937.

Aelurognathus is an extinct genus of gorgonopsian therapsids from the Permian of South Africa and Zambia.

Arctognathus is an extinct genus of gorgonopsids that throve during the Late Permian in the Karoo basin of what is now South Africa.

Aloposaurus is an extinct genus of gorgonopsian therapsids from the Late Permian of South Africa. It was first named by Robert Broom in 1910, and contains the type species A. gracilis (holotype AMNH 5317), and possibly a second species A. tenuis. This small gorgonopsid had a slender narrow skull only long, with a total body length of .

thumb|left|Restoration of S. laticeps with prey thumb|left|Holotype of S. nowaki

Viatkogorgon is a genus of gorgonopsian (a type of therapsid, the group that includes modern mammals) that lived during the Permian period in what is now Russia. The first fossil was found at the Kotelnich locality near the Vyatka River and was made the holotype of the new genus and species V. ivakhnenkoi in 1999. The generic name refers to the river and the related genus Gorgonops—the gorgons of Greek mythology are often referenced in the names of the group. The specific name honors the paleontologist Mikhail F. Ivakhnenko. The holotype skeleton is one of the most complete gorgonopsian specim

Scylacops (meaning "face that tears") is an extinct genus of Gorgonopsia. It was first named by Broom in 1913, and contains two species, S. bigendens, and S. capensis. Its fossils have been found in South Africa and Zambia. It is believed to be closely related to the Gorgonopsian Sauroctonus progressus. Scylacops was a moderately sized Gorgonopsid.

Aelurosaurus ("cat lizard", from Ancient Greek "cat" and "lizard") is a small, carnivorous, extinct genus of gorgonopsian therapsids from the Late Permian of South Africa. It was discovered in the Karoo Basin of South Africa, and first named by Richard Owen in 1881. It was named so because it appeared to be an ancestor for cat-like marsupials, but not yet a mammal itself. It contains five species, A. felinus, A. whaitsi, A. polyodon, A. wilmanae, and A.? watermeyeri. A. felinus, the type species, is generally well described with established features, while the other four species are not due to

Nochnitsa is an extinct genus of gorgonopsian therapsids who lived during an uncertain stage of the Permian in what is now European Russia. Only one species is known, N. geminidens, described in 2018 from a single specimen including a complete skull and some postcranial remains, discovered in the red beds of Kotelnich, Kirov Oblast. The genus is named in reference to Nocnitsa, a nocturnal creature from Slavic mythology. This name is intended as a parallel to the Gorgons, which are named after many genera among gorgonopsians, as well as for the nocturnal behavior inferred for the animal. The on

Kamagorgon is an extinct genus of therapsids from the Middle Permian of Russia. The type and only species is Kamagorgon ulanovi. It is only known from an incomplete skull. The snout is short and the canine teeth are very large. Kamagorgon was named in 1998 and originally classified in the biarmosuchian family Eotitanosuchidae along with the poorly known therapsid Eotitanosuchus. More recently, Kamagorgon has considered as a primitive gorgonopsian rather than a biarmosuchian due to the length of the front jawbone and rear side of the skull. These features are commonly shared by the brithopodid

Pravoslavlevia is an extinct genus of gorgonopsian therapsids that lived in the late Permian and is part of the Sokolki subcomplex of Russia. It had a skull long. The total length of the animal was about . Only one species (P. parva) is known. ==Classification== thumb|Pravoslavlevia The following cladogram showing the position of Pravoslavlevia within Gorgonopsia follows Kammerer and Masyutin, 2018:

thumb|left|Restoration of C. rubidgei thumb|left|Referred skull, the holotype of Tigrisaurus pricei

Smilesaurus is an extinct genus of gorgonopsian known from South Africa. It lived during the Late Permian. It contains the single species S. ferox.

Eriphostoma is an extinct genus of gorgonopsian therapsids known from the Middle Permian (middle Capitanian stage) of Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone, South Africa. It has one known species, Eriphostoma microdon, and was first named by Robert Broom in 1911. It is one the oldest known gorgonopsian and among the smallest and most basal members of the clade.

thumb|left|Life restoration Suchogorgon is an extinct genus of gorgonopsids from the Late Permian of Russia. It was a medium-sized animal with a low, narrow skull. Its skull is dotted with small pits, which might have housed sensory organs in life. Its canines were large and flat, as in most gorgonopsids.

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 lived during the Late Permian, and became extinct at the end of the Permian.

thumb|left|Referred skull, the holotype of Rubidgea platyrhina thumb|left|Referred skull

thumb|left|Artist's reconstruction of R. haughtoni

Cynariops is an extinct genus of gorgonopsian that lived in what is now South Africa during the Permian. The holotype skull specimen BMNH R5743 was made the basis of the new genus and species Cynariops robustus by Robert Broom in 1925, but the genus was later synonymised with other genera such as Scylacognathus. Specimen MB.R.999 was catalogued as a specimen of Aelurognathus at the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin, until it was further prepared and described in 2018, and the genus Cynariops resurrected.