Gorgonopsial Skull Plaque

$120.00

Gorgonopsia is an extinct clade of sabre-toothed therapsids from the Middle to Upper Permian roughly 265 to 252 million years ago. They are characterised by a long and narrow skull.

Description

Gorgonopsial Skull Plaque Replica measures 8.2×5.4×2.8 inches. Gorgonopsial Skull Plaque is museum quality polyurethane cast. Made in the USA. Viatkagorgon ivakhnenkol is the scientific name. Our precise skull plaque can be used as a teaching tool, museum skull exhibit, home décor skull, or office décor skull.

From Russia, Gorgonopsial or Viatkagorgon ivakhnenkol are the most morphologically homogeneous of the major therapsid clades. A distinctive feature of gorgonopsians is the large size of their canine teeth, which has led them to be compared to saber-toothed cats.

Gorgonopsial or Viatkagorgon ivakhnenkol are characterized by a long and narrow skull, as well as engorged upper and sometimes lower canine teeth and incisors which were likely used as slashing and stabbing weapons.

Postcanine teeth are generally reduced or absent. For hunting large prey, they possibly used a bite and retreat tactic, ambushing and taking a debilitating bite out of the target, and following it at a safe distance before its injuries exhaust it, whereupon the gorgonopsian would grapple the animal and deliver a killing bite.

They would have had an incredible gape, possibly in excess of 90 degrees, without having to unhinge the jaw.

They markedly increased in size as time went on, growing from small skull lengths 4 to 6 in. in the Middle Permian to bear like proportions of up to 2 ft. in the Upper Permian. The latest Gorgonopsial or Viatkagorgon ivakhnenkol, Rubidgeinae, were the most robust of the group and could produce especially powerful bites.

They are thought to have been completely terrestrial and could walk with a semi-erect gait, with a similar terrestrial locomotory range as modern crocodilians.

Gorgonopsial or Viatkagorgon ivakhnenkol may have been more agile than their prey items, but were probably inertial homeotherms rather than endotherms unlike contemporary therocephalians and cynodonts, and thus were probably comparatively less active.

Though Gorgonopsial or Viatkagorgon ivakhnenkol were able to maintain a rather high body temperature, it is unclear if they would have also had fur, sweat glands, or whiskers.

Gorgonopsial or Viatkagorgon ivakhnenkol had an overall more reptilian than mammalian brain. Most species may have been predominantly diurnal, active during the day, though some could have been crepuscular or nocturnal.

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Additional information

Weight 4 lbs
Dimensions 8.2 × 5.4 × 2.8 in
Gorgonopsial Facts

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Therapsida
Clade: Neotherapsida
Clade: Theriodontia
Seeley, 1895
Clade: †Gorgonopsia