Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 18, 2026

Cyonosaurus

Cyonosaurus is a genus of gorgonopsian therapsids from the late Permian of South Africa. Some skulls have been reported from Early Triassic strata, but further investigation revealed that these reports were erroneous. Cyonosaurus was 0.6 to 1.1 metres in length, with a skull 9 to 18 centimetres in length. The type species Cyonosaurus longiceps was named in 1937.

Last revised
Jul 18, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
278 w
Citations
2
Source
Cyonosaurus
Temporal range: Late Permian
Skull of C. longiceps in the Field Museum of Natural History.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Synapsida
Clade: Therapsida
Clade: Gorgonopsia
Genus: Cyonosaurus
Olson, 1937
Species
  • C. longiceps Olsen, 1937 (type)
  • C. rubidgei (Broom, 1937 [originally Cyniscops rubidgei])
  • C. kitchingi (Broom, 1936 [originally Galerhynchus kitchingi])
  • C. broomianus (von Huene, 1950 [originally Cyniscops broomianus])
  • C. tenuirostris (Boonstra, 1953 [originally Tangagorgon tenuirostris])
Synonyms
  • Cyniscops Broom, 1937
  • Cyniscopoides Brink and Kitching, 1953
  • Tangagorgon Boonstra, 1953
Life restoration of C. longiceps source ↗

Cyonosaurus is a genus of gorgonopsian therapsids from the late Permian of South Africa. Some skulls have been reported from Early Triassic strata, but further investigation revealed that these reports were erroneous.1 Cyonosaurus was 0.6 to 1.1 metres (2 ft 0 in to 3 ft 7 in) in length, with a skull 9 to 18 centimetres (3+12 to 7 in) in length. The type species Cyonosaurus longiceps was named in 1937.2

See also

See also

References

References

  1. Benoit, Julien; Kammerer, Christian F.; Dollman, Kathleen; Groenewald, David P.; Smith, Roger M.H. (15 March 2024). "Did gorgonopsians survive the end-Permian "Great Dying"? A re-appraisal of three gorgonopsian specimens (Therapsida, Theriodontia) reported from the Triassic Lystrosaurus declivis Assemblage Zone, Karoo Basin, South Africa". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 638 112044. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2024.112044. Retrieved 21 May 2024 – via Elsevier Science Direct.
  2. Gebauer, E.V.I. (2007). Phylogeny and evolution of the Gorgonopsia with a special reference to the skull and skeleton of GPIT/RE/7113 ('Aelurognathus?' parringtoni) (PDF) (Ph.D. thesis). Tübingen: Eberhard-Karls Universität Tübingen. pp. 1–316. Archived from the original on December 2, 2022.
  • Vertebrate Palaeontology by Michael J. Benton
  • paleodb.org
  • Sigogneau D. 1970. Révision systématique des Gorgonopsiens sud-africains. Cahiers de Paléontologie: 417