AGE:
Late Permian, Zone 1, 255 million years ago

SIZE:
Adult the size of a large bull skull of juvenile about 40cm long

MEANING OF NAME
'Ancient giant crocodile'

PRONUNCIATION:
Eo-titan-oh-SUE-kus

CLASSIFICATION:
THERAPSIDA: Eotheriodontia Family Eotitanosuchidae EOTITANOSUCHUS OLSONI

Skull of a sabre-toothed predatory reptile in the Eotheriodontia. Preserved in flood deposits containing many skeletons of estemmenosuchusids.

The skull on display is of a juvenile animal. An adult skull would likely reach about 1 metre in length. Like Biarmosuchus this mammal-like reptile was quite primitive in that the temporal open just behind the eye socket in the skull was small. The temporal opening is the site for the attachment (insertion) of masses of muscle that closed the lower jaw. In more advanced mammal-like reptiles, the temporal opening is larger, thus allowing for a large suite of muscles, and thus a stronger and more versatile bite