(Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, 1978) Cruickshank, A. R. I.
The Dicynodontia declined markedly at the close of the Permian, entered the Triassic with very
few species and had a final burst of evolutionary success in the Middle Triassic, before being
overcome by archosaurian competitors in the Upper Triassic. The structure of their skull is analysed
in terms of life habit and it is concluded that in all probability the most likely close analogues
to the Triassic Dicynodontia were the ground sloths of the American Neogene. Browsing
and grazing modes of life are recognised. It is also postulated that tusks in the Triassic Dicynodontia
were used for display purposes, and that tuskless forms were either nocturnal, or lived in
thick undergrowth.