Venukovia

Venyukovia was a genus of extinct tetrapods that lived during the Permian period, about 260 million years ago.
They were part of the group of anomodonts, which were herbivorous or omnivorous synapsids that had reduced or absent teeth and a beak-like structure.
Venyukovia was one of the earliest and most primitive anomodonts, and had a slender body, long tail, and relatively large head.

Venyukovia fossils have been found in Russia, specifically in the Ocher and Mezen River basins in the Perm region.
The type species, Venyukovia prima, was named by Russian paleontologist Ivan Yefremov in 1922, based on a partial skull and lower jaw.
Another species, Venyukovia triplicostata, was named by Russian paleontologist Leonid Tatarinov in 1960, based on a more complete skull and postcranial skeleton.

Venyukovia was about 1 meter long and weighed about 10 kilograms.
It had a long snout with small nostrils and large eyes.
It had 13 teeth in the upper jaw and 10 in the lower jaw, which were conical and sharp.
It also had a horny beak that covered the front part of the jaws.
The teeth and beak were probably used for biting and tearing plant material.
Venyukovia had a long neck and a flexible backbone.
It had four limbs that were adapted for walking or running on land.
It had five toes on each foot, with claws on the first four toes.
The fifth toe was reduced and did not touch the ground.

Venyukovia was probably a terrestrial animal that lived in dry and open habitats.
It may have been a solitary or social animal, depending on the availability of food and predators.
It may have been preyed upon by larger carnivorous synapsids, such as gorgonopsians or therocephalians.
It may have also faced competition from other herbivorous or omnivorous synapsids, such as dicynodonts or dinocephalians.

Venyukovia was one of the earliest representatives of the anomodont lineage, which later diversified and became the dominant herbivores of the late Permian and early Triassic periods.
Anomodonts were among the most successful and diverse groups of synapsids, and included forms such as kannemeyeriids, dicynodonts, and lystrosaurs.
Anomodonts survived the Permian-Triassic mass extinction, which wiped out most of the other synapsids, and continued to flourish until the late Triassic, when they were replaced by the rising groups of dinosaurs and mammal-like reptiles.