Dinogorgon

Dinogorgon
Temporal range: Late Permian
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Holotype skull of D. rubidgei
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Synapsida
Clade: Therapsida
Clade: Gorgonopsia
Family: Gorgonopsidae
Tribe: Rubidgeini
Genus: Dinogorgon
Broom, 1936
Type species
Dinogorgon rubidgei
Broom, 1936
Synonyms
  • Dinogorgon quinquemolaris Huene, 1950
  • Dinogorgon oudebergensis Brink & Kitching, 1953
  • Prorubidgea robusta Brink & Kitching, 1953
  • Rubidgea quinquemolaris Gebauer, 2007

Dinogorgon is a genus of gorgonopsid from the Late Permian of South Africa and Tanzania. The generic name Dinogorgon is derived from Greek, meaning "terrible gorgon", while its species name rubidgei is taken from the surname of renowned Karoo paleontologist, Professor Bruce Rubidge, who has contributed to much of the research conducted on therapsids of the Karoo Basin. The type species of the genus is D. rubidgei.

Dinogorgon is part of the gorgonopsian subfamily Rubidgeinae, a derived group of large-bodied gorgonopsians restricted to the Late Permian (Lopingian). The Rubidgeinae subfamily first appeared in the Tropidostoma Assemblage Zone, and reached their highest diversity in the Cistecephalus and Daptocephalus assemblage zones of the Beaufort Group in South Africa.