Tiarajudens
Tiarajudens () ("Tiaraju tooth") is an extinct genus of saber-toothed herbivorous anomodonts which lived during the Middle Permian period (Capitanian stage) in what is now Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It is known from the holotype UFRGS PV393P, a nearly complete skull. The type species T. eccentricus was named in 2011.
Article
7 sectionsContents
- Description
- History
- Phylogeny
- Paleobiology
- See also
- Notes
- References
Tiarajudens () ("Tiaraju tooth") is an extinct genus of saber-toothed herbivorous anomodonts which lived during the Middle Permian period (Capitanian stage) in what is now Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It is known from the holotype UFRGS PV393P, a nearly complete skull. The type species T. eccentricus was named in 2011.
==Description== thumb|left|Restoration Tiarajudens is a member of Anomodontia, a suborder of therapsids. Like other anomodonts, it was a quadrupedal herbivore about the size of a wild boar. The single fragmented holotype skull is short and robust at about in length. The most prominent features of Tiarajudens are its two large saber-like canine teeth. These teeth are unlike the tusks of dicynodonts, a later group of anomodonts. Twenty-one high-crowned teeth are present on either side of the upper jaw, including spoon-shaped incisors. Wide palatal teeth are also present. The top and bottom sets of teeth fit closely together, much like the teeth of mammals, allowing it to easily chew plants.