Gorgonopsid

"Two versions of Cutter? Sounds like some kind of nightmare."This article is about the Gorgonopsid species, not the Gorgonopsid group.

« "It's a compact killing machine, and it's incredibly powerful; Stephen, if it is still out there, then you have to find it. Fast!" »

— Connor Temple to Stephen Hart on the Gorgonopsid.

Gorgonopsid
Creature Properties
Home time period	Late Permian period
Type	Therapsid,Synapsid (Mammal-like-Reptile)
Fatalities caused	One cow Possibly one Special Forces soldier Four Future Predators
In the Primeverse
Appearances	Episode 1.1 Episode 1.2 (Mentioned) Episode 1.4 (Mentioned) Episode 1.6 Episode 2.1 (Flashback) Episode 4.1 (Flashback) Episode 4.2 (Photo)

The Gorgonopsid was a large species of the group of mammal-like reptile synapsids of the same name - one which resembled Inostrancevia, and was known for being a deadly and effective hunter.

Characteristics

This Gorgonopsid species had a large, compact, four-legged body with a large head and snout, and it possessed mammalian specialisations; including differentiated (heterodont) tooth shape, a fully developed temporal fenestra, pillar-like rear legs, and ear bones.

Gorgonopsids were patient and implacable hunters, which could gallop at a top speed of 50 km/h (30 mph) and had a strong sense of smell. Once a Gorgonopsid smelled blood from its prey, it would relentlessly track and pursue its prey at all costs. After hunting down and killing their prey, Gorgonopsids sometimes stored it in trees to eat later, in a manner which mirrored behaviour displayed by modern-day leopards.

A lethal marriage between speed and power, Gorgonopsids were strong enough to hurl cars several feet into or through the air and break down doors with little effort, though they were required to build up momentum in order to do so most effectively, as well as durable enough to survive being rammed head-on by a Toyota Hilux pick-up truck, though leaving it stunned for a few seconds. Their tough, leathery hide enabled them to endure several rounds of gunfire and even the vicious claws of a Future Predator.

Incursions and encounters

Episode 1.1

The Gorgonopsid attacking Helen Cutter in the late 1990s. (Episode 1.1)

Circa 1998, a Gorgonopsid came through an Anomaly into the Forest of Dean. It pursued Helen Cutter into an Asda shopping centre car park, where it attacked her by throwing cars at her, then ran back into the forest after her.

Eight years later, the Gorgonopsid was present in the Forest of Dean, which it treated and guarded as its territory; presumably, it had either returned to the present through the Forest of Dean Anomaly, or it had remained in the Forest since it first came through eight years earlier. The Gorgonopsid killed a cow to eat and stored it in a tree, and went on to attack a truckload of poultry.

When Ben Trent, Abby Maitland and a Coelurosauravus called Rex entered the Forest of Dean, the Gorgonopsid stalked them. When Abby followed Rex into some shrubbery, the Gorgonopsid walked past. Only by keeping quiet and staying still did Abby and Rex manage to evade the Gorgonopsid. As dusk fell, the Gorgonopsid was drawn out from the forest to Ben's house by the smell of blood from a cut on Ben's finger. The creature smashed through Ben's bedroom window and frantically tried to reach Ben, causing considerable damage to the room. Ben fended it off by hurling several items at it, eventually driving it off for good by smashing a plasma globe against its head.

The Gorgonopsid trying to break down a door containing Ben Trent and his teacher. (Episode 1.1)

The next day, the Gorgonopsid wandered into Ben's school, where it was spotted by Ben as he was doing detention with his teacher in a classroom. Stalking through the corridors of the school, the Gorgonopsid's attention was briefly caught by an artwork resembling itself on the wall before the sounds of Ben and his teacher arguing drew it towards the classroom. Hearing it stomping down the corridor, the teacher opened the door and screamed in horror at the sight of it. The Gorgonopsid then began ramming its head into the door as Ben and the teacher tried to barricade it, but Stephen Hart arrived and drew the creature's attention, and lured it away from the classroom. The Gorgonopsid chased Stephen through the school and cornered him at a fire exit, where it rammed him against the door and burst outside and left whilst Stephen was left unconscious.

The following night, after Nick Cutter's expedition into the now-closed Anomaly, the Gorgonopsid attacked the Home Office team at the former Anomaly site and caused chaos, until Stephen briefly knocked the creature out by driving a truck straight into it. As the Gorgonopsid began to recover, Stephen brought the creature back down by shooting it down with a machine gun, and the creature then collapsed and apparently died of its injuries.

Episode 1.6

A Gorgonopsid in the Permian before devouring a Future Predator's young. (Episode 1.6)

When Tom Ryan and his men, as well as Nick and Helen Cutter, were attacked in the Permian by a Future Predator, a Gorgonopsid arrived at their campsite as the Predator attacked, and the Gorgonopsid briefly stunned the adult Predator and then proceeded to devour the Future Predator young. The adult Future Predator quickly recovered, and viciously fought with the Gorgonopsid. The Predator managed to rip one of Gorgonopsid's eyes out and badly slash its neck, but the Gorgonopsid ultimately managed to kill the Predator by trapping its arm in its jaws before flipping up and onto its back, fatally crushing the Predator beneath its bulk. The Gorgonopsid then roared loudly to proclaim its victory before limping away with its kill.

Other references

Episode 1.1

Connor showed Nick the newspaper with an amateur photograph of the Gorgonopsid, to convince him to search the Forest of Dean. Claudia Brown later showed Nick the same image and asked him if he could just dismiss the photograph as nonsense. Connor also had an CGI recreation of a Gorgonopsid on his database.

Episode 1.2

Connor Temple mentioned meeting a Gorgonopsid to Tom and Duncan. When Connor and Abby Maitland were investigating a possible Anomaly incursion in the New Forest, Connor told Abby to just run if they encountered another Gorgonopsid.

Episode 1.4

When Abby expressed adoration for the Dodos' cuteness and claimed it wasn't their fault they became extinct, Connor remarked that she hadn't been this sentimental about the Gorgonopsid from the Forest of Dean incursion.

Episode 1.6

The Gorgonopsid in Claudia Brown's nightmares. (Episode 1.6)

Before she was erased from the timeline, Claudia Brown had nightmares in which she was attacked by a Gorgonopsid in the Home Office.

Episode 2.1

The Gorgonopsids from Episodes 1.1 and 1.6 appeared in the recap of the previous series.

Episode 4.1

The Gorgonopsids from Series 1 appeared in James Lester's recap of the previous three series.

Episode 4.2

An archive shot of the Gorgonopsid from Episode 1.6 was on Creaturesightings.com.

Gallery

Menagerie Gallery

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This is a small selection of images from the massive gallery page for Gorgonopsid.

See the full Gorgonopsid Gallery

Trivia

In the televised program, they portrayed themselves as having extraordinary dimensions and extraordinary physical strength, aptly exemplified by their effortless act of propelling a vehicle through the air solely with the force of their head. In reality, these creatures have a comparable size to that of a Bengal tiger or a lion, in terms of both their height and length.

Promotional image featuring the original coloration of the Gorgonopsid.

• The Gorgonopsid was the first ever creature seen in Primeval.
• The Gorgonopsid was originally going to have lime-green eyes and a greyish-green body. Despite its coloration being changed, the Gorgonopsid is depicted in promotional images with this unused color scheme.
• In Episode 4.2, an archive shot of the Gorgonopsid that appeared in Episode 1.6 was used for a picture of a creature on Creaturesightings.com which the site incorrectly believed to be a mutant lion.
• The Gorgonopsid's roar was a very repeated and recycled sound effect throughout Primevals first series. It was not only used in the Gorgonopsid's appearances, but was used for Duncan and Tom's fake dinosaur, the dinosaurs on Duncan's TV in Episode 1.4, and was also heard at the end Episode 1.6 when Cutter realised that history had been changed and the Forest of Dean Anomaly began to collapse.
• The Gorgonopsid in Primeval bore a resemblance to the Gorgonopsids from Walking with Monsters, having both been concepted by the same creators. Indeed, one of the Gorgonopsid images from Connor's database was actually from a promotional image from Walking with Monsters.
  • On the other hand, in Episode 1.1, the Gorgonopsid's profile picture on Connor's database looked exactly like the Gorgonopsids that appeared in the show, skin texture and all. It is unlikely that a CGI restoration of a Gorgonopsid would have been this accurate.
• The Gorgonopsid in Primeval was commonly described in spinoff material as being a Gorgonops, but its physical appearance would imply it to have been an Inostrancevia. Also, the Gorgonopsid was shown co-existing with Scutosaurus in its Permian home; no Gorgonops fossils have been found in association with Scutosaurus fossils, but Inostrancevia fossils have. This seems to be a reference to The Complete Guide to Prehistoric Life written by Tim Haines and based on the Walking with... series, which identifies the Gorgonopsid species from Walking with Monsters as Gorgonops as well, despite it resembling Inostrancevia.

Tyrannosaurus Azteca or Aztec Rex poster

• The promotional image of the Gorgonopsid fighting the Future Predator was reused for a 2008 movie poster of Tyrannosaurus Azteca; although the Gorgonopsid's back legs (and the Future Predator) were removed and Tyrannosaurus rex's forearms were added and the front legs made it the hind legs.
• Before Episode 3.10 was broadcast, it was speculated by fans that a Gorgonopsid would appear in it and kill Connor. A Gorgonopsid was also speculated to appear in Episode 5.6, but in both cases, this did not happen.
• Considering that the Gorgonopsid stashes its prey in trees and from a distance could pass as a big cat, a Gorgonopsid entering the present could have started the sightings of Alien Big Cats in the English Isles, including the infamous Black Beast of Exmoor.
• The Gorgonopsid was given double saber teeth to make it look more menacing.
• Oddly enough, while the Gorgonopsid in series 1 had no fur, the Lycaenops from New World did.

References

Series 1 Creatures

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