Estemenosuchus



Estemmenosuchus ("Crowned Crocodile") is a genus of large, early omnivorous therapsid that lived during the middle part of the Middle Permian period. It was among the largest animals of its day, and is characterised by distinctive horn-like structures, probably for intra-specific display. Two species of Estemmenosuchus are known, both from the Perm (or Cis-Urals) region of Russia.

Estemmenosuchus was a large, clumsy-looking animal, the size of an adult bull, with a sprawling posture. The skull is high and massive, and possesses several sets of large horns, somewhat similar to the antlers of a moose, growing upward and outward from the sides and top of the head.