MOSCHOPS

extinct genus of mammallike reptiles found as fossils in rocks of Permian age (286 to 245 million years ago) in southern Africa. Moschops, which is representative of a group of mammallike reptiles (see therapsid) that became adapted to a diet of plant food, was about 2.6 m (8 feet) long. The body was massive; the skull was high and shortened front to back. Numerous chisel-edged teeth suitable for cropping vegetation were present in the jaws. The animal's back characteristically sloped downward from the front to the back in giraffelike fashion. The limb girdles or supports were massive, especially in the shoulder region, in order to support the animal's great bulk. The bone on the top of the skull was greatly thickened and perhaps employed for butting. Moschops probably inhabited dry upland regions.