Dicynodont synapsid — Platypodosaurus robustus

Geologic period: Late Permian

Age: Late Permian — Daptocephalus assemblage-zone context.

Feeding: Herbivorous feeding is consistent with dicynodont anatomy.

Locomotion: Terrestrial quadruped.

Body plan: Heavy terrestrial dicynodont body carried on four limbs.

Evidence: The Smithsonian catalog documents the mounted skeleton and specific preserved limb elements.

Why it matters: The relatively complete skeleton lets visitors move beyond isolated skulls and see the whole-body construction of a large dicynodont.

Plain Language Identity: A large Late Permian dicynodont therapsid represented in the Smithsonian collection by a mounted skeleton.

What You Are Looking At: A skeletal reconstruction based on a Smithsonian specimen cataloged as a complete mounted skeleton with limb bones.

Ecosystem: Late Permian Karoo Basin ecosystem.

Preservation: Mounted fossil skeleton.

Formation: Teekloof Formation.

Find Location: South Africa.

Research History: The specimen has a complicated nomenclatural history and has also been cataloged under names including Daptocephalus leoniceps and Dicynodon leoniceps.

Open Questions: Preserve the museum's Platypodosaurus robustus identity in our exhibit while retaining the alternate historical names in the research trail.

Source Urls: https://naturalhistory.si.edu/visit/virtual-tour/current-exhibits/deep-time-virtual-tour-fossil-list; https://www.si.edu/object/nmnhpaleobiology_3449753

Enrichment Method: SAGE curated research pass; title and scientific name matched; current research distinctions retained; evidence separated from inference

Scientific name: Platypodosaurus robustus

Evidence / representation: Representative evidence-type visual; not the exact specimen.

Representative evidence-type visual; not the exact specimen.

The Permian World: Strange Bodies and the Great Dying.