OBJECT DOSSIER · SMITHSONIAN OPEN ACCESS

Therocephalian synapsid — Proalopecopsis haughtoni

SAGE Museum Deep Time scientific dossier

Artist / Creator

https://www.si.edu/object/proalopecopsis-haughtoni-brink-kitching-1951:nmnhpaleobiology_3449928

Date / Period

Late Permian · Late Permian.

Object Type

skull

Medium

unknown_needs_review

About This Object

Geologic period: Late Permian

Age: Late Permian.

Feeding: Carnivorous or strongly faunivorous feeding is inferred from its therocephalian skull and dentition.

Locomotion: Terrestrial quadruped.

Body plan: Terrestrial therapsid with differentiated incisors, canines and postcanine teeth.

Evidence: Cranium and teeth are directly preserved. Detailed behavior is reconstructed from the functional anatomy.

Why it matters: Proalopecopsis adds another branch of predatory therapsids to the Permian story and helps show how diverse the synapsid radiation became before the Great Dying.

Plain Language Identity: A Late Permian therocephalian therapsid from South Africa.

What You Are Looking At: A partial fossil skull preserving numerous teeth. The Smithsonian also preserves associated ribs and a limb element from the specimen.

Defense Or Attack: The differentiated teeth, including prominent canines, formed the primary prey-processing apparatus.

Ecosystem: Late Permian terrestrial ecosystem of South Africa.

Preservation: Partial skull with associated skeletal material.

Formation: Teekloof Formation.

Find Location: South Africa.

Open Questions: Do not reconstruct hunting behavior more specifically than the anatomy supports.

Source Urls: https://naturalhistory.si.edu/visit/virtual-tour/current-exhibits/deep-time-virtual-tour-fossil-list; https://www.si.edu/es/object/3d/proalopecopsis-haughtoni-brink-kitching-1951:7f87a348-923f-4f4c-8b99-8754ee39196a; https://3d.si.edu/object/3d/proalopecopsis-haughtoni-brink-kitching-1951:7f87a348-923f-4f4c-8b99-8754ee39196a

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

Scientific name: Proalopecopsis haughtoni

Evidence / representation: comparative_taxon_visual

Why It Is In This SAGE Exhibit

comparative_taxon_visual

The Permian World: Strange Bodies and the Great Dying.

Provenance

Smithsonian Deep Time source scene: Life Changes in the Permian

Visual source institution: Wikimedia Commons

Exhibition History

Included in the SAGE Museum Dinosaurs & Deep Time staging exhibit.

Collection & Credit

Media license: CC0

http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en

Subjects & Themes

Proalopecopsis haughtoni Late Permian skull Life Changes in the Permian The Permian World

ORIGINAL COLLECTION SOURCE

This object page stays inside SAGE Museum. The Smithsonian link below is provided only as the original scholarly collection record. It opens separately.

VIEW ORIGINAL SMITHSONIAN RECORD ↗