Portrait of the giant gorgonopsian Inostrancevia alexandri from the late Permian of the Arkhangelsk region (Russia). Its skeletons and individual skulls were found by the Russian paleontologist V. P. Amalitsky at paleontological excavations at the location of Sokolki. The skull is high and laterally compressed, up to 50 cm long. The front teeth are well developed, especially the saber-shaped upper canines with saw-toothed edges (crown length up to 15 cm) stand out. A characteristic feature of Inostrancevia is the presence of small occluded teeth only on the upper jaw. Despite its huge size (body length 3-4 meters), the skeleton is quite light. The paws have large claws. In addition to the type species depicted here, the larger I. latifrons and the extremely fragmentary (only the cranial region is known) I. uralensis, as well as the recently described I. africana from South Africa and Mozambique, which turned out to be one of the last gorgonopsians, were also identified. Inostrancevia hunted mainly pareiasaurs and dicynodonts.
Paint, 2025.
