page_title: Moschorhinus
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Moschorhinus / Description
caption_attribution_description: Moschorhinus kitchingi
context_page_description: Moschorhinus is an extinct genus of therocephalian in the family Akidnognathidae, with only one species: M. kitchingi. It was a carnivorous, lion-sized synapsid which has been found in the Late Permian to Early Triassic of the South African Karoo Supergroup. It had a broad, blunt snout which bore long, straight canines. It appears to have replaced the gorgonopsids ecologically, and hunted much like a big cat. While most abundant in the Late Permian, it survived a little after the Permian Extinction, though these Triassic individuals had stunted growth.
context_section_description: The skull is similar to that of the Gorgonopsids, with large temporal fenestrae (three in total as a synapsid) and a convexly bowed palate. The skull ranged in size to comparable to a monitor lizard, to those of a lion. They possess a characteristically short, broad snout. They possess a pair of prominently long incisors, similar to the canines of saber toothed cats.
  Lateral view of Moschorhinus jaw, showing range of motion necessary for such large incisors, and upper palatal fenestrae of snout. (From van Valkenburgh and Jenkins, 2002).
caption: Side view of the head, showing the sabers and range of motion for the jaw
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