Endothiodon bathystoma

Endothiodon is an extinct genus of large dicynodont from the Late Permian. Like other dicynodonts, Endothiodon was an herbivore, but it lacked the two tusks that characterized most other dicynodonts. The anterior portion of the upper and lower jaw are curved upward, creating a distinct beak that is thought to have allowed them to be specialized grazers. Endothiodon was widespread and is found across the southern region of what was then a single large continent known as Pangea.

Skull The skull of Endothiodon is most quickly recognized by the prominent upturned beak. The premaxilla and palate of the upper jaw are vaulted and allows for the upturned and pointed lower jaw to fit into this region. On the lower jaw, lateral to the teeth, is a broad groove. Endothi

Teeth The teeth in the upper and lower jaw differ both in morphology as well as in tooth replacement. The teeth of the upper jaw tend to be larger than those of the lower jaw and are serrated on the anterior edge while the lower jaw has serrations on the posterior edge. Although it was

Endothiodon was first discovered by Richard Owen in 1876 in the Karoo region of Beaufort Group, South Africa based on a skull and mandible. The genus was described based on the anterior portion of a snout and the corresponding part of the dentary, creating an upturned beak. Several more specimens have since been collected, many of them in the Beaufort Group in South Africa, it is here that the first partial skeleton was discovered by Broom in 1915. In the 1970s a skull and lower jaw was discover.

Diet In adult Endothiodons the lower jaw teeth are pear shaped in cross section, compressed distolaterally, and has posterior serrated edges while the upper jaw teeth have anterior serrated edges. In the juveniles, the lower jaw is a lot smaller and more slender. The lower jaw contain.

Endothiodon was first discovered in the Karoo region of Beaufort West, South Africa. The Karoo region is characteristic of siltstones that are fine-to medium- or coarse-grained, dark or greenish grey, and very finely crossbedded. Since then several more specimens have been found in African countries including the Usili, Ruhuhu and lower part of the Kawinga Formations of Tanzania, the basal beds of Madumabisa Mudstone of Zambia, and Chiweta Beds, Malawi. Endothiodon has been placed in the Tropido.