Struthiocephalus whaitsi

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The Middle Permian rocks of the Karoo basin in South Africa tell the story of a remarkable time i’n earth’s history. in these 25 milion year old rocks we see the first appearance of the ‘modern’ terrestial ecosytems, replete with small burrowing animal, lumbering land herbivores, and feriocous apex predators. Among the most common of these animals were the heavily built herbiverous tapinocephanians, the first large land herbivores. Many Tapinocephalian species are known from this time, including the strange-looking Strutiocephalus. Its was a heavy animal, about the size of a cow and was equipped with a thick skull, and a long jaw filled with peg-shaped teeth. However its most unusual feature was a semi-conical bony lump protruding from its forehead. The function of this feature is hotly debated, was it for display, a dome use for head butting, or did it bear a large horn like some sort of hideous permian-aged unicorn.