Gorgonopsids: Late Permian Predators

Gorgonopsids belong to a suborder to synapsids, also known as mammal-like reptiles. They were among the largest land predators during the late Permian Period and like many other species on Earth, became extinct during the Permian-Triassic mass extinction. Like many synapsids, gorgonopsids resembled dinosaurs, but were in fact unrelated to the reptilian archosaur family to which the dinosaurs belonged. The first complete skeleton of a gorgonopsid was unearthed in South Africa in 1998, and it has been deduced that these predators lived in that area as well as Siberia.

Like other synapsids, gorgonopsids had more in common with mammals than they do with reptiles. They had specialized teeth, including canines and incisors, as well as two long saber teeth. These kinds of tusk-like teeth would be seen again in the evolutionary process when mammalian predators would adopt them for hunting during the Cenozoic Period. Furthermore, gorgonopsids ran on long, column-like legs with a gait similar to large mammals. This is unlike true reptiles that possess a sprawling gait and run with their legs flapping out to the sides instead of directly underneath the body. Although gorgonopsids had a lot in common with mammalian predators, the eyes were set at the side of the head like reptiles. Most mammalian predators have binocular vision, with the eyes pointed forward on the skull in order to better zero in on prey. Finally, no fossilized evidence of hair imprints have been found, so it is likely that gorgonopsids had scaly rather than hairy skin.

Gorgonopsids were large predators, the largest species of which reached nearly ten feet in length and had a skull three feet long. Its saber teeth were most likely used to inflict quick and jagged wounds on prey. The gorgonopsid would then wait for the victim to grow weak from loss of blood before delivering the killer blow. Because saber teeth have the liability of snapping more easily than other, shorter canines, it seems likely that gorgonopsids were ambush predators. A quick bite and then withdrawal would preserve the teeth. Large gorgonopsids likely fed on large herbivores of the Permian Period, including Pareiasaurs. These eight-foot long ancestors of modern-day turtles were heavily armored and would have been impervious to most smaller predators. Due to the size of the prey around at the time in the Late Permian, gorgonopsids might have hunted in packs.

As the climate of Earth increasingly changed toward a more arid and hot environment, the gorgonopsids found their prey dwindling. By the end of the Permian, these giant predators had died out in the widening deserts of the supercontinent, Pangaea.