page_title: Dicynodon
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Dicynodon / Description
caption_attribution_description: Dicynodon lacerticeps, a Dicynodont from the Upper Permian of South Africa, pencil drawing
context_page_description: Dicynodon is a genus of dicynodont therapsid that flourished during the Upper Permian period. Like all dicynodonts, it was herbivorous. This animal was toothless, except for prominent tusks, hence the name. It probably cropped vegetation with a horny beak, much like a tortoise, while the tusks may have been used for digging up roots and tubers.
  Many species of Dicynodon have been named, and the genus is considered a wastebasket taxon. A 2011 study of the genus found most of the species to represent a paraphyletic grouping, with the only valid members of Dicynodon being D. lacerticeps and D. huenei. A 2019 study named a new species D. angielczyki, but simultaneously transferred D. huenei to the genus Daptocephalus.
context_section_description: Dicynodon was a medium-sized and advanced member of the Dicynodont group. It had an average length of 1.2 metres (3.9 ft), although size differed among species. Its fossil remains have been found in sediments of latest Permian age in South Africa and Tanzania.
  The type species is Dicynodon lacerticeps Owen, 1845. A large number of species have since been placed in this genus, some of which turned out to be synonyms of other species, others have been moved to different genera.
caption: Restoration of D. lacerticeps
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