typically feature a long and narrow skull. Juvenile Rubidgea appear to have had snouts wider than long. Unlike eutheriodonts, the occipital bone (at the back of the skull) is rectangular (wider than tall) and concave, as opposed to triangular. The gorgonopsian brain, like other non-mammaliaform therapsids, lacks an expansion of the neocortex, has a relatively large hindbrain compared to the forebrain, a large epyphysial nerve (found in creatures with a parietal eye on the top of the head), an enlarged pituitary gland, and an overall elongated shape; all-in-all resembling a reptilian brain. The braincase was also rather reptilian, and is also comparatively smaller and not as thick as those of mammals. The flocculus, a lobe of the cerebellum, is proportionally large, and is related to the vestibulo–ocular reflex (which stabilises gaze while moving the head). Judging by the orientation of the semi-circular canals in the ear (which have to be oriented parallel to the ground), the head of the gorgonopsian specimen GPIT/RE/7124 would have tilted forward by about 41°, increasing the overlap between the visual fields of the two eyes and improving binocular vision – useful to a predator. Unlike either reptiles or mammals, the semi-circular canals are flat, probably because they were wedged between the opisthotic (an inner ear bone) and supraoccipital bones. Teeth Like many mammals, gorgonopsians were heterodonts, with clearly defined incisors, canines, and postcanine teeth homologous with premolars and molars. They had five incisors in the upper jaw (for most, the first three were the same size as each other, and the last two were shorter) and four on the bottom. In the majority of gorgonopsians, the incisors were large, and the upper canines were elongated into sabres, much like those of later sabre-toothed cats. Some gorgonopsians had exceptionally long upper canines, such as Inostrancevia, and some of them had a flange on the lower jaw to sheath the tip of the canine while the mouth was closed. Sabres are generally interpreted as having been used as stabbing or slashing weapons, which would have required an extremely wide gape. Both the upper and lower canines of Rubidgea were elongated, and the animal would have needed an even greater gape. The serration pattern of gorgonopsians was most similar to those of theropod dinosaurs than to other synapsids. The palate also features tuberosities and ridges which oftentimes have functional teeth, which may have been used to hold onto