Scutosaurus

Scutosaurus ("shield reptile") was a pareiasaur reptile that lived in the Late Permian of Russia.

Description
Scutosaurus was large and heavily built, growing up to 3 meters in length and up to a tonne in weight. Its body was covered in bony armor in the form of scutes under its skin. Because of all this armor, it could not move very fast.

The skull of Scutosaurus is broad and flat, and has protruding cheekbones.

Classification
Scutosaurus was a type of pareiasaur, and was one of the largest known examples. There is currently only one valid species in the genus, S. karpinskii.

History
Scutosaurus was originally described as a species of Pareiasaurus by Amalitzky in 1922. It was not until 1930 that A. Hartmann-Weinberg moved the fossils into a separate genus.

Diet
Scutosaurus was a herbivore with flattened teeth. Because it lived in a semiarid climate, it may have needed to travel long distances in order to find enough suitable food.

In popular culture
Scutosaurus appeared in the third episode of the 2003 BBC documentary series Walking with Monsters. It was portrayed as a social animal that migrated in herds, and as a prey item of gorgonopsids. Scutosaurus also appeared briefly in the ITV television series Primeval.