Lesson plan
Arctops
Arctops ("bear face") is an extinct genus of gorgonopsian therapsids known from the Late Permian of South and Eastern Africa. It measured up to in length and its skull was long. The type species is Arctops willistoni, named from a poorly prepared and incomplete skull. A second species was named A. watsoni based on a complete skull in 1953, followed by a third in 1970, A. kitchingi, from a smaller, juvenile skull. Both were formally synonymized with A. willistoni by Christian Kammerer in 2017. An additional species, A. umulunshi, was described in 2025 from the Madumabisa Mudstone Formation of Zambia, named after the indigenous Icibemba word for "hunter". of A. willistoni
Article summary
Arctops ("bear face") is an extinct genus of gorgonopsian therapsids known from the Late Permian of South and Eastern Africa. It measured up to in length and its skull was long. The type species is Arctops willistoni, named from a poorly prepared and incomplete skull. A second species was named A. watsoni based on a complete skull in 1953, followed by a third in 1970, A. kitchingi, from a smaller, juvenile skull. Both were formally synonymized with A. willistoni by Christian Kammerer in 2017. An additional species, A. umulunshi, was described in 2025 from the Madumabisa Mudstone Formation of Zambia, named after the indigenous Icibemba word for "hunter". of A. willistoni
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.