Welcome to Aloposaurus
Name Definition
Fox lizard
Name Given By
Robert Broom in 1910 (A. gracilis) | Brink and Kitching in 1953 (A. tenuis)
Location
Karoo Basin in South Africa
Classification
Amniota, Synapsida, Therapsida, Gorgonopsia
Size
about 30 cm tall, 60 - 70 cm long (skull is 12 cm long)
Temporal Range
Wuchiapingian of the Late Permian, approximately 258 - 254 million years ago
Ecological niche
small carnivore
Species/Sub Species
A. gracilis (type), A. tenuis (previously known as Aloposauroides tenuis)
Diet
given its size, Aloposaurus would have had a pretty low place in the food web, so it would have only hunted smaller or slightly bigger than itself
Introduction
Aloposaurus is a genus of gorgonopsian therapsids that lived in South Africa during the late Permian. Aloposaurus was a pretty basal gorgonopsian since it was only classified into the Gorgonopsia which is the Clade rank. Aloposaurus was only known from a weathered skull described by Robert Broom in 1910 from the type species, A. gracilis, until a second species, A. tenuis, was discovered in 1953 with more complete remains. The skull length is about 12 cm long, and the entire body length was about 60 - 70 cm, making it a relatively small predator given its relatives’ size such as Inostrancevia. This description of A. tenuis came from the study of another genus, Aloposauroides, which made it Aloposauroides tenuis, however, Aloposauroides is now known to be synonymous with Aloposaurus. Its small size is probably what inspired the name “fox lizard”, since most foxes are around the 50 - 80 cm length range.