Dicynodon

Dicynodon, an important type of Triassic reptile, usually included in the order Anomodontia. They have been unearthed in Africa, India, and the Ural region, and more recently remains have been found in the Elgin Trias of Scotland. Our knowledge of them is largely due to Owen. They were terrestrial animals, and in some ways suggest affinities with tortoises, in others with mammals. In Dicynodon the lower jaw was incised in a horny beak, but the upper bore two huge teeth. In Oudenodon no teeth were present. See CHELONIA, REPTILE.