Moradisaurus

{{Short description|Extinct genus of large captorhinid tetrapods}}

{{automatic taxobox

| fossil_range = {{fossilrange|Lopingian}}

| image = Moradisaurus.jpg

| image_caption = Reconstruction of Moradisaurus grandis from different angles

| taxon = Moradisaurus

| authority = Taquet, 1969

| type_species = {{extinct}}Moradisaurus grandis

| type_species_authority = Taquet, 1969

}}

Moradisaurus is an extinct genus of large captorhinid tetrapods, with a single species Moradisaurus grandis,P. Taquet. (1969). Première découverte en Afrique d'un Reptile Captorhinomorphe (Cotylosaurien). Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires des Séances de l'Academie des Sciences Paris, Série D 268:779-781 known from the late Permian (Lopingian) aged Moradi Formation of Niger.{{Cite journal |last=O'Keefe |first=FR |last2=Sidor |first2=CA |last3=Larsson |first3=HCE |last4=Maga |first4=A |last5=Ide |first5=O |date=2005 |title=The Vertebrate Fauna of the Upper Permian of Niger: III, Morphology and Ontogeny of the Hindlimb of Moradisaurus grandis (Reptilia, Captorhinidae) |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=25 |issue=2 |pages=309–319}}{{Cite journal |last=Sidor |first=CA |last2=Ide |first2=OA |last3=Larsson |first3=HCE |last4=O'Keefe |first4=FR |last5=Smith |first5=RMH |last6=Steyer |first6=J-S |last7=Modesto |first7=SP |date=2022 |title=The vertebrate fauna of the upper Permian of Niger-XI. Cranial material of a juvenile Moradisaurus grandis (Reptilia: Captorhinidae) |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=41 |pages=e2030345}} It is the largest captorhinid known, estimated to have reached a snout-vent length of over two metres.{{Cite journal |last=LeBlanc |first=Aaron R. H. |last2=Brar |first2=Amanpreet K |last3=May |first3=William J |last4=Reisz |first4=Robert R |date=2015-09-18 |title=Multiple tooth-rowed captorhinids from the Early Permian fissure fills of the Bally Mountain Locality of Oklahoma |url=https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/vamp/index.php/VAMP/article/view/24960 |journal=Vertebrate Anatomy Morphology Palaeontology |volume=1 |pages=35 |doi=10.18435/B5RP4N |issn=2292-1389|doi-access=free }} Similar to other members of Moradisaurinae, it possessed multiple tooth rows, which is associated with a high-fiber herbivorous diet.{{Cite journal |last=Modesto |first=SP |last2=Richards |first2=CD |last3=Ide |first3=O |last4=Sidor |first4=CA |date=2018|title=The vertebrate fauna of the Upper Permian of Niger-X. The mandible of the captorhinid reptile Moradisaurus grandis |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=38 |issue=6 |pages=1–14}}

The holotype is MNHN MRD1, a skull that was discovered during the late 1960s.