Tapinocephalidae

Tapinocephalidae is an extinct family of herbivorous dinocephalian therapsids. They are known from Russia, southern Africa, and Brazil, and probably were widely distributed across Pangaea. They flourished briefly during the Wordian and Capitanian ages, radiating into several lineages, existing simultaneously, and differing mainly in details of the skull and, to a lesser degree, the skeleton. It has been debated whether or not they were semi-aquatic. They had thick, domed heads and are widely thought to have engaged in head-butting contests against rival individuals of the same species.

Tapinocephalidae

William King Gregory, American Museum of Natural History · Public Domain · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Sits inside
TapinocephaliaPBDB
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Osteichthyes
Environment
terrestrialPBDB, for Amniota

Time the record covers

At least 4.4 million years on record.

The record covers at least 264.28 Mya to 259.857 Mya. No occurrence read is dated outside 298.9 Mya to 251.902 Mya.

Carboniferous — about 0 of 49 occurrencesPermian — about 49 of 49 occurrencesPermianEarly Triassic — about 0 of 49 occurrences300–298 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences298–297 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences297–295 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences295–293 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences293–292 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences292–290 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences290–288 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences288–287 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences287–285 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences285–284 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences284–282 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences282–280 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences280–279 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences279–277 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences277–275 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences275–274 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences274–272 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences272–271 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences271–269 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences269–267 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences267–266 Mya — about 2 occurrences266–264 Mya — about 4 occurrences264–262 Mya — about 16 occurrences262–261 Mya — about 16 occurrences261–259 Mya — about 9 occurrences259–257 Mya — about 0.4 occurrences257–256 Mya — about 0.4 occurrences256–254 Mya — about 0.4 occurrences254–253 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences253–251 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences264.28 Mya – 259.857 Mya299.8 Mya251 Mya

49 occurrences of Tapinocephalidae on record, most of them in the Permian. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

49 occurrences

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. More on what this infers.

Found in

5 formations

Abrahamskraal — 32.42°S, 22.37°EAbrahamskraal — 32.97°S, 22.02°EAbrahamskraal — 32.35°S, 22.58°EAbrahamskraal — 32.91°S, 22.03°EAbrahamskraal — 32.47°S, 21.77°EAbrahamskraal — 32.86°S, 22.11°EAbrahamskraal — 32.49°S, 21.98°EAbrahamskraal — 32.37°S, 22.00°EAbrahamskraal — 32.50°S, 22.30°EAbrahamskraal — 32.49°S, 22.17°EAbrahamskraal — 33.11°S, 22.54°ETeekloof — 32.39°S, 22.55°ETeekloof — 32.63°S, 22.44°ERio do Rasto — 24.00°S, 51.11°WRio do Rasto — 30.02°S, 54.15°WRuhuhu — 10.35°S, 35.00°EMadumabisa Mudstone — 16.52°S, 27.95°E

Loading coastlines…

The named rock units Tapinocephalidae has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 25 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Tapinocephalidae and its relatives

Permian

Where Tapinocephalidae and its relatives were recorded in the Permian.

Found in the same rock

74 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 24 sites for Tapinocephalidae, and this reads all of them. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

10 references

Each of the 49 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content1

Picture of Tapinocephalidae

Credit
William King Gregory, American Museum of Natural History
Licence
Public Domain
Commercial use
the licence allows it

No 3D scan of Tapinocephalidae was found in Sketchfab.

Smithsonian Open Access and MorphoSource were not reached for this taxon, so this list is what the others held rather than everything there is.

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itTapinocephalia through timeFormations of the PermianThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. Owen 1876