Anteosaurus magnificus

Anteosaurus (meaning “Antaeus reptile”) is an extinct genus of large carnivorous synapsids. It lived during the Capitanian epoch of the Guadalupian (266-260 million years ago) in what is now South Africa. Like the well-known Moschops, they were dinocephalians, a clade of large-bodied therapsids that flourished from 270 to 260 million years ago and then went extinct without descendants. Paleontologists surmise that Anteosaurus hunted rather like crocodiles, pulling land animals into the water. In particular, scientists point to the animal’s strong tail and weak, sprawling legs. Its body was well-suited to projecting itself forward, both in hunting and evidently in head-butting.

Anteosaurus had a tall, narrow skull, which is 80 centimetres (31 in) long. It was perhaps the largest known carnivorous non-mammalian synapsid, estimated at 5–6 m (16–20 ft) in length and 500 to 600 kg (1,100 to 1,300 lb) in weight. The teeth are another identifying characteristic of Anteosaurus. The teeth on the roof of the mouth are enlarged and confined in a cluster near the outer tooth row. The "normal teeth" include the anterior, canine and cheek teeth. A prominent feature of the dinocephalians is the ledge on the anterior teeth. The canine teeth are big, and there are usually about ten cheek teeth present. The front of the mouth curves up due to the premaxillary bone of the upper jaw.