Tiarajudens
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Tiarajudens Temporal range: Capitanian, 260 Ma |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Order: | Therapsida |
| Clade: | †Anomocephaloidea |
| Genus: |
†Tiarajudens Cisneros et al., 2011 |
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Tiarajudens ("Tiaraju tooth") is an extinct genus of saber-toothed herbivorous anomodonts which lived during the middle Permian period (Capitanian stage) in what is now Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It is known from the holotype UFRGS PV393P, a nearly complete skull. The type species T. eccentricus was named in 2011.
Tiarajudens is a member of Anomodontia, a suborder of therapsids. Like other anomodonts, it was a quadrupedal herbivore about the size of a wild boar. The single fragmented holotype skull is short and robust at about 22.5 centimetres (8.9 in) in length. The most prominent features of Tiarajudens are its two large saber-like canine teeth. These teeth are unlike the tusks of dicynodonts, a later group of anomodonts. Twenty-one high-crowned teeth are present on either side of the upper jaw, including spoon-shaped incisors. Wide palatal teeth are also present. The top and bottom sets of teeth fit closely together, much like the teeth of mammals, allowing it to easily chew plants.
The type species of Tiarajudens, T. eccentricus, was described in the journal Science in 2011. It was named by Juan Carlos Cisneros, Fernando Abdala, Bruce S. Rubidge, Paula Camboim Dentzien-Dias, and Ana de Oliveira Bueno. The skull was found in Middle Permian-age deposits in Rio Grande do Sul. Paleontologists found the location using satellite photographs from Google Earth. The locality was identified as a clearing within a thickly vegetated area. The degree of erosion and the color of the rocks were an indication of the locality's age and likelihood of preserving fossils.
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