Dicynodon grimbeeki Skull Replica

Description

Dicynodon grimbeeki skull replica information

Dicynodon grimbeeki skull replica is a museum-quality polyurethane resin cast from University of California, Berkeley specimen. Made in USA.

 Characteristics & Appearance

Dicynodon grimbeeki, two dog-teeth is a type of dicynodont therapsid that flourished during the upper Permian period.

Dicynodon grimbeeki was toothless, except for prominent tusks which it probably cropped vegetation with a horny beak, much like a tortoise.

They had strong arms and legs, as well as 5 sharp claws on each hand therefore their gait was similar to the ‘high walk’ of crocodiles.

Dicynodon was a medium-sized and advanced member of the dicynodont group. It had an average length of 1.2 meters (3.9 ft), although size differed among species.

They had disproportionally large heads that ended in a horny beak. Both males and females had a pair of tusks sticking out from the upper jaw, with those of the male being slightly larger.

Their jaws were also simplified, with some of the bones dedicated instead to hearing, considered a key sign of mammalian adaptation.

Herbivorous Diet

Like all dicynodonts, Diictodon were herbivorous. They used their beaks to break off pieces of the sparse desert shrubs. Like modern desert animals.

Diictodon may have had unusually efficient digestive systems, due to the lack of nutrients present in desert plants. As burrowing animals, they may have fed off of water-rich plant tubers.

Lifestyle

As a therapsid, Dicynodon grimbeeki shared many features with modern-day mammals. Most noticeably, they made burrows into the earth. These burrows could be up to 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) deep. Many scientists believe that Dicynodon lived like the modern gopher.

Their burrows could have been used to escape the heat of the desert, which was the dominant environment on the continent of Pangaea in the Late Permian Period. Inside these burrows, nests have been found, where Dicynodon grimbeeki skeletons are present.

They constituted of quite a gregarious lifestyle with numerous burrows in 500 square meters of space. However, their burrows were unconnected and did not form any large colonies.

Scientific classifaction:

• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Chordata
• Clade: Synapsida
• Clade: Therapsida
• Clade: †Anomodontia
• Clade: †Dicynodontia
• Family: †Pylaecephalidae
• Infraorder: †Dicynodontia
• Stem group: †Bidentalia
• Superfamily: †Dicynodontoidea
• Family: †Dicynodontidae
• Genus: †Dicynodon
• Species: D. feliceps
• Temporal range: Capitanian (Guadalupian) – Lopingian (Changhsingian), 262–252 Ma
• Conservation status: Extinct

Complete your exhibit with our high-quality Dicynodon grimbeeki skull set, Dicynodon grimbeeki mounted skeleton, and Dicynodon grimbeeki skull specimens. Shop for more museum-quality replicas in our reptile replica store.