Gorgonops is an extinct genus of Gorgonopsian therapsid, of which it is the type genus. Gorgonops was a medium-sized Gorgonopsian, with a skull length of 22–35 centimeters (8.7–13.8 in), depending on the species. They ranged from 1.2–2 meters (3.9–6.6 ft) long from nose to tail. Relative to body size, Gorgonops had a deep skull with a triangular profile when viewed from above. Perhaps the most distinctive features were two enlarged canine teeth that were so big (12 centimetres (4.7 in) long) they almost protruded beyond the lower jaw.
Gorgonopsians were carnivores and the dominant predators of the Late Permian.
Because the canines were so large, they would have had little trouble in penetrating the tough hides of some of the herbivores of the time, particularly pareiasaurs such as Pareiasaurus. Aside from the teeth, one of the key predatory advantages that Gorgonops had over prey was its semi-erect gait, compared to the sprawling gait exhibited by most prey animals of the time. Aside from allowing for more energy efficient locomotion, this allowed Gorgonops to travel at relatively high speeds.
Found in southern Africa, though a few specimens have also been found in European Russia and more recently in China. This distribution is not so odd when you recall that all the continents were joined together into Pangea at this time
Gorgonops was a synapsid, which means it belonged to the same group as mammals, yet it also shared characteristics with animals we consider reptiles. Because of this, Gorgonops and its close relatives are also informally referred to as "mammal-like reptiles". The much more famous, Dimetrodon, is an earlier example of a synapsid that is also a "mammal-like reptile"s.
The first Gorgonops was discovered and named during the 1800s by Richard Owen.