Inostrancevia

Creature information
Scientific name :	Inostrancevia alexandri
Time period :	Late Permian period
Primary diet :	Carnivore
In the series
Fatalities caused :	One of its kind
Appearances :	Evolution's Winners

Inostrancevia is a genus of gorgonopsid which lived during the late Permian period just before the devastating mass extinction preceding the beginning of the Triassic period.

Facts

Inostancevia was a type of gorgonopsid.  Gorgonopsids belong to a group of reptiles with mammalian similarities, appropriately named "mammal-like reptiles".  These animals laid eggs but when their young hatched, they would suckle their mother for milk.  Inostancevia is no different.

Inostrancevia was an apex predator.  This animal hunted big game using their large sabre teeth.  These teeth are remarkably similar to those of the more recent group of animals called the "sabre-toothed cats".  These teeth were most likely used to puncture its prey's trachea, preventing it from breathing.  Like those of sabre-toothed cats, Inostrancevia's canine teeth were probably very fragile and would use their incisors to tear flesh off a carcass.

Inostrancevia measured 3.5 metres in length.  This easily makes it the largest gorgonopsid (discounting Leogorgon as only a few fragments of this animals have been discovered).  Inostrancevia was a slender animal with short legs.

In Dinosaur Revolution

An Inostrancevia being incinerated by a lava flow. (Evolution's Winners)

Evolution's Winners

An Inostrancevia was walking in the barren, dark, Permian landscape, almost stepping on a cockroach. Lava fragments where being thrown in the background. He walked to another Inostrancevia, only it was dead. Furthermore, a third Inosctrancevia was feeding on the second one, hinting that the extinction has begun and that little food was around, so they resorted to cannibalism.

They roared at each other, fighting over food, until a lava fragment hits the carcass and run away, but the cannibal Inostrancevia is hit by a fragment, and is killed by it. The hungry Inostrancevia survives and leaps onto a big rock before the entire ground breaks apart and lava bubbles up. It goes to the edge of the cliff like rock, and rests, roaring and watching as the world came to an end. But it dies when lava bursts up and touches it, turning him to ash in a matter of seconds.

Gallery

This is a small selection of images from the massive gallery page for Inostrancevia. To the full collection of images, see here!