Kazanian Empire of the Late Permian

From the Dinosaur Collector

The Late Permian is first modern fauna. The oldest of the proto mammals sometimes called mammal like reptiles are found in the the Russian province of Kazan hence the name. The equivalent in of the tapinecehaleus zone found in South Africa.  Animal life spread out from the equator to temperate zones. The synapsid theraspids evolve from the pelycosaurs of the Early Permian and fill most of the ecological roles. Their descendants will eventually become mammals. Dinocephalians like the giant plant eater Moschops and Estemmenosuchus, dominate the first part of the Late Permian the Kazanian but die out before the great extinction   Anaspids once thought to be related to modern turtles are less common. They evolve some superficially lizard like forms and giant plant eating pareiasaurs like Scutosaurus that continue until the great extinction. Diaspids the ancestors of the dinosaurs, birds and living reptiles are uncommon. They fill niches as lizard types, gliders and aquatic reptiles.  052205      

Moschops was a large 17 foot animal.  The skull had a heavily built roof that could be a sign that they engaged in head-butting like modern sheep and deer. Possibly descended from ancestors that  were semi-aquatic Moschops was terrestrial. It has been suggested that they were partially warm blooded (endotherms). The body shape suggests they were cold blooded animals that maintained a steady body tempature beacuse of their size ( inertial homeotherms).

Recast Marx Moschops custom painted by Fred R. Hinojosa.

Scutosaurus had the typical pareiasaur massive body, spiked head and bony
armor developed to an extreme.  The northern  Ulemosaurus appears to be synonymous with (although distinct at the species-level) the Karroo  Moschops.

Moschops has long pedigree as a toy figure starting with the Marx Toy Company. Above front is a Marx Figure with customized high lights. Original Marx figures were always reproduced in conservative grays, browns and greens. Next to it is a SDC premium from the Sinclair Gasoline set based on the MPC figures, which imitated the Marx figures. While the Marx figure is solid the MPC style figures are hollow underneath. The figure again has been high lighted. The main difference between this figure and the MPC version is the color, MPC figures tended to be in silver, blue, red and green. In back is a Starlux Scutosaurus.

Scutosaurus had the typical pareiasaur massive body, spiked head and bony armor developed to an extreme. They were heavy ungainly animals, the size of an ox, with capacious bodies, strong limbs, broad feet, and thick solid skulls ornamented with bizarre knobs and ridges.  They were armoured with bony scutes or osteoderms set in the skin. It has been often suggested that these animals were semi-aquatic.  Skeletons have been found in a standing position, indicating that the animals became mired in the mud and swamps while feeding on vegetation.  Their remains are also consistently found in channel stream deposits (riverbeds).  Of course, this does no mean that they were semi-aquatic; and actually the fact that the animals became stuck argues against aquatic adaptations (a aquatic animal would not likely become stuck, whereas a terrestrial animal would; e.g. the remains of sauropod dinosaurs, which were as terrestrial as elephants, are sometimes found in this position). Perhaps a good model would be the giant land tortoise. Given the increasingly arid environment that many be a better model.

Starlux Scutosaurus: this is still one of the best reproductions.

Estemmenosuchus ("crowned crocodile") was a large, four footed  animal about 13 feet long 61/2 feet tall..  This plant-eater had long, sharp, forward-pointing teeth in the front of the mouth and smaller cheek teeth at the sides; these teeth let Estemmenosuchus eat a wide variety of tough plant material (like cycads, horsetails, and conifers). Estemmenosuchus had a massive skull, a short tail, and a bulky body. The thick skull had many bony knobs: two by the nostrils, two in the middle of the snout, and two moose-like "horns" over the eyes, at least one expert on mammal-like reptiles asserts that Estemmenosuchus was a carnivore, exerting great force at the tips of the chisel-like front teeth when slicing the flesh and bones of its prey. Like Moscops, Estemmenosuchus may have been warm-blooded with an internal heat engine like mammals or inertial homeotherms.  

PlaySkools Definitely Dinosaurs has a toothy Moschops. Hasbro's Jurassic Park Line adds some variety to the Late Permian figures with its articulated Scutosaurus and Estemmenosuchus.  The gliding lizard is from the Aurora Swamp diorama model.

Bradysaurus was a Late Permian herbivore about 8 feet (2.5 meters) long. It was quadrupedal (it walked on four legs) and had thin bony armor, a short tail, and claws on its stubby toes. Fossils have been found in the Karoo Basin of South Africa.  Anteosaurids are the large carnivores.  Trochosaurus (badger reptile) was a typical predator.

Starlux Bradysaurus and Kaiyodo UHA Trochosaurus.    .

Return to the Paleozoic

Click on the Site B icon to the right for Dioramas organized by period or by manufacturer.