Gorgonopsids: Beasties of the Permian

The Gorgonopsia (“Gorgon faces”) are an extinct suborder of a group of therapsids called theriodonts, which are a group of therapsids. The gorgonopsians evolved from a reptile-like therapsid in the Middle Permian, and although early gorgonopsids were no larger than a dog, later gorgonopsids were some of the largest carnivores of the Late Permian period. They have mammalian specializations that include having teeth of different shapes (heterodonty), having a fully developed temporal fenestra, a vaulted palate, and early ear bones. They possibly had a combination of scales and bristles, and they are assumed to have been terrestrial. The Gorgonopsia were the only theriodont line that went extinct during the Permian-Triassic mass extinction event.