Keratocephalus ("horned head") is an extinct genus of tapinocephalian therapsids from the early Capitanian age of South Africa.[1] It was found in the Lower and Middle Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone of the Karoo deposits, in the Lower Beaufort Beds in Beaufort West
| Keratocephalus Temporal range: Capitanian
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| Skeleton of Keratocephalus moloch | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Synapsida |
| Clade: | Therapsida |
| Suborder: | †Dinocephalia |
| Family: | †Tapinocephalidae |
| Subtribe: | †Tapinocephalina |
| Genus: | †Keratocephalus von Huene, 1931 |
| Species: | †K. moloch
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| Binomial name | |
| †Keratocephalus moloch von Huene, 1931
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| Synonyms | |
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Description edit
It was 2.5 to 3 m (8 ft 2 in to 9 ft 10 in) long, with 50 cm (20 in) long skull and had a mass of 700 to 1,000 kg (1,500 to 2,200 lb) with a variable snout length, variable pachyostosis with a nasofrontal boss raised into a horn-like shape.
Classification edit
Keratocephalus moloch, known from a number of greatly variable skulls, along with postcrania, from the Lower and Middle Tapinocephalus zone, shows considerable variability in the pachyostotic development. It may be not as derived as Tapinocephalus. The naso-frontal boss is raised into a sort of horn (hence the name - "horned head") and the length of the snout varies greatly. This in itself throws doubt on Boonstra's distinction between short and long-snouted forms. Pelosuchus, known only on the basis of postcranial features, is a synonym of this genus.
Sources edit
- ^ "Keratocephalus moloch". Palaeocritti. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015.
Further reading edit
External links edit
- "Therapsida: Tapinocephalia: Tapinocephalidae: Keratocephalus". Palaeos. Archived from the original on November 18, 2023.
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