Olivierosuchus was a top predator of the lower Lystrosaurus Assemblage Zone (LAZ) and lived alongside other large therapsids like Moschorhinus. The high diversity of akidnognathids in the LAZ suggests that the group recovered quickly from the Permian-Triassic extinction event, a mass extinction in which many other therapsid groups disappeared.[2]
A burrow cast described in 2010 from the LAZ has been attributed to Olivierosuchus or a related therocephalian. The burrow is straight and wide and includes an entry ramp and living chamber. Remains of a juvenile Lystrosaurusdicynodont were found in the cast, but the individual was likely too small to dig the burrow. It is possible that the burrow was home to an Olivierosuchus that had stashed the remains of the dicynodont as its prey in the tunnel. Carnivorous tetrapods typically create straight burrows and often store food in them, providing evidence for this interpretation of the South African burrow.[3]
References
^Brink, A.S. (1965). "A new ictidosuchid (Scaloposauria) from the Lystrosaurus-Zone". Palaeontologia Africana: Annals of the Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, University of the Witwatersrand. 9: 129–138.
^ abBotha-Brink, J.; Modesto, S. P. (2011). "A new skeleton of the Therocephalian synapsid Olivierosuchus parringtoni from the Lower Triassic South African Karoo Basin". Palaeontology. 54 (3): 591–606. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4983.2011.01048.x.
