Ictidorhinus is an extinct genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of ictidorhinid biarmosuchia

Biarmosuchia

Biarmosuchia, also known as Eotitanosuchia and Phthinosuchia, is an assemblage of primitive Permian therapsids that represent either a paraphyletic stem group or a very early off-shoot of the main therapsid tree....

n. Fossil

Fossil

Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...

s have been found from the Dicynodon Assemblage Zone

Dicynodon Assemblage Zone

The Dicynodon Assemblage Zone is a geological stratum and a faunal zone of the Beaufort Group, of the South African Karoo. The name refers to Dicynodon, a genus of mammal-like reptile, that flourished in the Permian Period and whose fossils have been found in that structure....

 of the Beaufort Group

Beaufort Group

The Beaufort Group is the third of the main subdivisions of the Karoo Supergroup of geological strata in Southern Africa. It follows conformably after the Ecca Group and consists essentially of sandstones and shales, deposited in the Karoo Basin from the Middle Permian to the early part of the...

 in the Karoo Basin

Karoo

The Karoo is a semi-desert region of South Africa. It has two main sub-regions - the Great Karoo in the north and the Little Karoo in the south. The 'High' Karoo is one of the distinct physiographic provinces of the larger South African Platform division.-Great Karoo:The Great Karoo has an area of...

, South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

 and are of Late Permian

Permian

The PermianThe term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Sir R. I. Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named his "Permian...

 age. It had a short snout and proportionally large orbits. Some have considered these characteristics to be representative of a juvenile animal, possibly of Lycaenodon

Lycaenodon

Lycaenodon is an extinct genus of non-mammalian synapsid.-References:*...

. However, these two genera are not known to have existed at the same time, making it unlikely for Ictidorhinus material to be from a juvenile form of Lycaenodon.

External links

• Ictidorhinus in the Paleobiology Database
  Paleobiology Database
  ' is an online resource for information on the distribution and classification of fossil animals, plants, and microorganisms.-History:The Paleobiology Database was founded in 2000. It has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the Australian Research Council...