Rhinesuchus

Rhinesuchus is a large temnospondyl amphibian. Remains of the genus are known from the Permian of the South AfricanKaroo Basin's Tapinocephalus and Cistecephalus assemblage zones, both belonging to the Beaufort Group. The skull of Rhinesuchus had a flat triangular shape with blunt snout similar to some of the other large amphibians, and had a palate filled with small sharp teeth, suggesting that it hunted fish. Also, the small eyes were on top of the head suggesting that it approached its prey from below. It is a popular misconception that Rhinesuchus is named after the Rhine River in Europe; Rhinesuchusactually gets its name from the Greek word for nose. The type species is Rhinesuchus whaitsi. Two more species, R. africanusand R. wadiai, are considered to be nomen dubium. R. broomianus and R. beaufortensis have been synonymized with R. whaitsi, while R. capensis has been moved out of the genus into Rhinesuchoides. Muchocephalus has also been synonymized with R. whaitsi.[1]