Struthiocephalus

Struthiocephalus ("ostrich head") is an extinct genus of dinocephalian therapsids from the Permian of South Africa. It was a large animal, reaching in body mass.

==Ecology== This animal has the largest head of any tapinocephalid. Brink (1956) suggests that Struthiocephalus fed in or near water, the teeth being used for rooting up, gathering and grasping plant matter. Boonstra (1965) likewise considered that Struthiocephalus fed on soft vegetation, possibly under water. He suggested the postcranial skeleton possibly showed adaptations to living in marshy conditions, and the bone surface around the nostril might indicate the presence of a fleshy valve present used for closing off the nostril under water.