Page 93 - Prehistoric Animals

Moss-(K?)Chops

Moschops

Moschops (calf face) is
an extinct genus of therapsids that lived in
the Guadalupian epoch, around 265 to 260 million years
ago. It measured around 3 to 5 metres in length, and
weighing on average 327 kg. Fossil remains of Moschops
have been found only in rocks in Southern Africa. Mos-
chops was one of the largest herbivores in Africa. Sever-
al species have been found ranging in size from big to
very small. However, it’s believed the smaller ‘species’
are in fact juveniles.

Moschops was a big heavy animal. The bulk of its
weight was concentrated to the front of its body sup-
ported by two long robust front legs. Its rear legs were
shorter, which gave it a downward sloping back. The
reason for the weight distribution can be found in its
head. The forefront of its scull was very thick. The gen-
eral opinion is that Moschops used its head for butting.
There is no evidence to suggest this was a hammer-like
butting motion so it was possibly used for pushing,
hence the main body weight at the front. Two rivals,
possibly at mating time, would butt together and start
pushing until one, exhausted, gave up.

Moschops was a browsing herbivore. Its jaws
were lined with short tightly packed teeth, ideal for
grinding and chewing the plants and grass it lived on.
The size and shape of its body indicates it was not an an-
imal that could move at any speed. So it’s likely it
browsed in a herd for safety. However, it’s unlikely, as
an adult, it had many, if any, natural predators. At that
time, its size alone would have been quite intimidating.

It was Robert Broom in 1911 that first discovered
the fossils and named them the same year. Since then
Moschops has been constantly misrepresented in the
media as a Dinosaur. It was not a Dinosaur. Dinosaurs
had not yet appeared on the planet. However, when Di-
nosaurs finally appeared, long after Moschops presumed
extinction, some have likened some Dinosaurs charac-
teristic as very similar to those of Moschops.