Gorgonopsinae

Of all the subfamilies within Gorgonopsia, only a few managed to survive the minor extinction at the end of the Permian. However, of these few subfamilies, only species within Gorgonopsinae managed to survive the climate change in the Early Triassic. They were the most advanced and adaptable subfamily of gorgonopsians. The generally smaller size of species in this group is believed to have contributed to their success. All of the species of gorgonopsian from the Olenekian epoch onwards are descended from this group. Gorgonopsines quickly adapted to the changing climate of the Triassic. Many species evolved features that aided them in an arboreal lifestyle, due to the mostly hot, forested environment from the Olenekian to the Carnian epoch. Most species are known to have had exceptionally strong scapular muscles, and some even had adaptations in their wrists and ankles allowing them to swivel to an unusual degree. This is also the oldest gorgonopsian group that is definitively known to have developed whiskers, although it is possible that some Permian species also possessed them. Also, to aid in balance, all known species in Gorgonopsinae had much longer tails than their Permian relatives, with some species having a tail that was almost 78% of their total body length, although in most the tail makes up a more conservative 30%. Species within Gorgonopsinae varied greatly during the Triassic, some vary so much from their Permian relatives that it is in debate whether or not they should be considered members of Gorgonopsinae at all. They were very successful as top predators as they had no competition (the only other large predators of the time could not climb trees). Some of the best preserved fossils of gorgonopsians are in fact from the Middle to Late Triassic, many even preserving skin impressions. After the Norian Hothouse Event, the majority of Gorgonopsines died out, but many were able to adapt to the drastic change in climate. Species during the latest Triassic greatly resembled Permian species, and many increased in size as the new open landscapes caused the evolution of larger herbivores (pareiasaurs in particular were very successful during this time). However, few Gorgonopsines grew larger than two meters long. The subfamily Gorgonopsinae survived well into the Early Jurassic, before splitting off into various other groups. By the Aalenian epoch, the last species of this ancient group died out, giving way to the new groups like the Dinoceratopsidae and the Ailurapodamiminae.

Species
†Acuminaris anticuus A species known from several specimens, Acuminaris was a small gorgonopsian for its time at about 2 feet (0.6 meters) in length. Its main identifying feature is its unusual sharply pointed snout, however it is also known for being the oldest known Mesozoic gorgonopsian, being from early Induan epoch, which is why its species name means “aged or time-honored”. As the oldest known gorgonopsian from the Mesozoic, it had few features that were more advanced than those of Permian species. It had yet to evolve the longer tail and more flexible spine of later species, and the back of its skull is nearly identical to that of several Permian gorgonopsians. The upper canines of Acuminaris are also rather unremarkable for a gorgonopsian at the time, short and somewhat flattened from side-to-side. As it lived before the hot temperatures and rainforests had fully taken hold in Pangea, so it lacked many of the features necessary for an arboreal lifestyle. It is believed to have mainly hunted small cynodonts and pylaecephalid dicynodonts. <p style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:16px;color:black(255,105,180);">†Leobratus gracilis <p style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:16px;color:black(255,105,180);">A species known only from fragmentary remains. What is known of Leobratus suggests that it was unusually large for a gorgonopsian of its time, about 1.6 meters long. It also had an unusually short snout and cat-like face, suggesting a powerful bite, and long upper canines. The rest of its body seems to have been rather gracile and well suited for an arboreal lifestyle. About 33% of its total length was tail. It lived during the Anisian epoch in Morocco. <p style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:16px;color:black(255,105,180);">†Nordjeger europaeus <p style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:16px;color:black(255,105,180);">Possibly one of the strangest gorgonopsians to have evolved in the Triassic, Nordjeger was the only member of that group ever to have become aquatic as the warming periods near the end of the Triassic prevented more of them from evolving before the evolution of marine cynodonts such as the Parahydrurgoidea. It had an elongated, stoat like body with comparatively short limbs with webbed feet and reached lengths of about 5 feet (1.5 meters). Several features that its ancestors evolved for an arboreal lifestyle such as a long tail, 50% of its body length, and a spine that was very flexible, helped it in its marine lifestyle. Like most gorgonopsians in the Triassic, it had a skull that was very long and slender compared to those of Permian species. <p style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:16px;color:black(255,105,180);">Nordjeger was a species of gorgonopsian from Norway in the Ladinian, one of the few places during the Triassic with relatively cool temperatures. It is thought to have hunted mainly around the coast and preyed on small fish and cephalopods. <p style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:16px;color:black(255,105,180);">†Cucumipellis compsognus <p style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:16px;color:black(255,105,180);">One of the best known Triassic gorgonopsian species, several complete skeletons of this species have been found, as well as many juvenile and hatchling specimens. Some Cucumipellis fossils are so well preserved that they even preserve skin impressions. These skin impressions show that Cucumipellis, and likely many of its relatives, had tough, wrinkled skin with somewhat evenly spaced small bumps like those on a cucumber (and perhaps sparse hair, though this is in debate), hence the genus name of the species. Aside from these reasons making it a very important discovery, Cucumipellis is a very average gorgonopsian species for the time. It had separate nostrils, rather than the mammal-like nose that later species evolved, medium length upper canines, a long and slender skull (much more so than Permian species), and gracile legs. It was the usual size for a gorgonopsian of this time, at about 3 feet (1 meter) in length and weighing about 26 to 40 lbs. (12 to 18 kg). Its tail made up about 38% of its length. <p style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:16px;color:black(255,105,180);">Cucumipellis lived in Argentina during the Carnian epoch, and was certainly the top predator of its environment. The environment it lived in was a very arid, nearly lifeless desert: the Amataca Desert. The most common animals in the desert were the parareptiles, among the most desert-adapted of all reptiles, and it is likely that Cucumipellis fed mainly on the regions millerosaurs and possibly the smaller pareiasaurs as well. More to be added soon