Lycosuchus ("wolf crocodile") is an extinct genus of carnivorous therocephalians which lived in the Middle Permian 265—260 Ma existing for approximately . As a member of the Lycosuchidae, the genus represents one of the earliest diverging therocephalians. The type and only species, L. vanderrieti, is known from a handful of well-preserved specimens featuring the cranium and lower jaw; the holotype US D173 housed at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, is a near complete occluded skull.[1] Specimen MB.R. 995, housed at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, Germany, consists of a near complete and isolated lower jaw, along with a partial snout and brain case.[2] With the help of μCT data, Pusch et al (2020) described the endocranial anatomy of Lycosuchus vanderrieti. It was a medium-sized predator, reaching 1.2 m (3.8 ft) in length with a skull 23 cm long.,[3] typical of early therocephalians. L. vanderrieti bore two functional canines in each maxilla, possibly due to a protracted tooth replacement. Both the upper canines and the single canine of the lower jaw are serrated.
Discovered in South Africa, it was named by paleontologist Robert Broom[4] in 1903 and later assigned by him to Therocephalia.