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Description
Rubidgea atrox was pretty much the most fearsome predator of its time and place. It lived in South Africa in the Permian period, about 260-255 million years ago. It belonged to the group called the gorgonopsids, or gorgon-faces. It had a huge skull, about 46 cm in length, with canine teeth larger than the teeth of a Tyrannosaurus, which sometimes protruded beyond the edge of the lower jaw. It can thus be considered one of the earliest sabre-toothed predators. Rubidgea reached a length of about 3.5 m, with a body the size of a big grizzly bear's. Being a member of the group which later gave rise to the mammals, it might have been warm-blooded and covered in fur - I personally consider it quite likely. It had few or no teeth behind the canines, but the front teeth or incisors were large and sharp. It could use its canines to stab the neck or belly of its prey, then use the incisors to rip pieces of meat off, which it then swallowed whole. Prey items for Rubidgea probably included the many species of herbivorous dicynodonts who shared its environment.

Description
Rubidgea atrox was pretty much the most fearsome predator of its time and place. It lived in South Africa in the Permian period, about 260-255 million years ago. It belonged to the group called the gorgonopsids, or gorgon-faces. It had a huge skull, about 46 cm in length, with canine teeth larger than the teeth of a Tyrannosaurus, which sometimes protruded beyond the edge of the lower jaw. It can thus be considered one of the earliest sabre-toothed predators. Rubidgea reached a length of about 3.5 m, with a body the size of a big grizzly bear's. Being a member of the group which later gave rise to the mammals, it might have been warm-blooded and covered in fur - I personally consider it quite likely. It had few or no teeth behind the canines, but the front teeth or incisors were large and sharp. It could use its canines to stab the neck or belly of its prey, then use the incisors to rip pieces of meat off, which it then swallowed whole. Prey items for Rubidgea probably included the many species of herbivorous dicynodonts who shared its environment.