Kingoria, a junior synonym, has been used more widely in the literature than the more obscure Dicynodontoides, which is similar-sounding to another distantly related genus of dicynodont, Dicynodon.

[1] Dicynodontoides is primarily known from fossil localities in South Africa and Tanzania, though several specimens unidentified to the species level are known from Zambia, Malawi, and India.

[1][2][3] Unlike several other members of the remarkably disparate emydopoid clade, Dicynodontoides did not survive into the Triassic, and its temporal distribution is restricted to the Late Permian.

[1] Dicynodontoides was first described by Owen in 1876 based on a poorly preserved, but fairly complete skull and mandible, and was originally referred to the genus Dicynodon.

[8][9][10] Not until the last decade has significant light been shed upon the matter, solidifying the place of the senior synonym, Dicynodontoides, and affirming the presence of only two species, D. recurvidens and D.

[1] In dorsal view, the skull is oval in shape with a broad snout, and reaches its widest point posterior of the pineal foramen, which is slightly raised.

[7] Its palatine bone is smooth and significantly reduced to the lateral border of the internal nostril, having important implications for food processing (see below).

[11] The narrow anterior portion of the jaw could have allowed highly mobile movement of the tongue for the collection of surface vegetation, though other explanations for this feature are equally possible (see below).

[7] In most members of Dicynodontia, both the reduced dentition and sharp cutting edge around the anterior end of the lower jaw suggest a scissor-like mode of food collection.

Cox[7] suggests this feature, as well as the strong jaw musculature, indicated by the large lateral wing on the dentary, may point towards grubbing in the dirt for food.

However, subsequent analyses of other specimens have not featured the same degree of bluntness of the anterior end of the lower jaw, and call this theory into question.

[15] Nevertheless, the significant reduction of the tough, horny covering of the palate in Dicynodontoides suggests that whatever it may have grubbed up and consumed would have been both small, soft, and required minimal preparation.

[7][16] Muscle restoration of the acetabular-femoral articulation reveals the diverging pattern of locomotion of Dicynodontoides from the typical sprawling gait of most Permian dicynodonts.

A comprehensive taxonomic revision of Dicynodon[18] and subsequent phylogenetic analysis of Dicynodontia[23] reveal these relationships within Anomodontia below: Biseridens Anomocephalus Tiarajudens Patranomodon Suminia Otsheria Ulemica Galepus Galechirus Galeops "Eodicynodon" oelofseni Eodicynodon oosthuizeni Colobodectes Lanthanostegus Chelydontops Endothiodon Pristerodon Diictodon Eosimops Prosictodon Robertia Emydops Dicynodontoides Kombuisia Myosaurus Cistecephalus Cistecephaloides Kawingasaurus 12 Dicynodontoides is primarily known from the Upper Permian formations of the Karoo Basin of South Africa (D. recurvidens) and the Ruhuhu Basin of Tanzania (D. nowacki), both of which have been stratigraphically correlated.

[1] However, whether or not Dicynodontoides was a victim of the end-Permian biotic crisis or became extinct previous to this event remains unclear despite collecting efforts near the Permo-Triassic boundary.

[1] A specimen belonging to Dicynodontoides was found in the Upper Permian Kundaram Formation of the Pranhita-Godavari Valley of India, but has not been identified to the species level.

[1][3] Additionally, a Zambian specimen collected from the Luangwa Basin, likely correlating with the Cistecephalus Assemblage Zone of South Africa, was rediscovered and identified as belonging to the genus.

[14] The Cistecephalus Assemblage Zone and its stratigraphic correlates, although trending toward more arid conditions, can be categorized as a terrain of extensive flats covered by crisscrossing channels.

Concentrations of plant and animal life would have gathered around these river banks where rich soil would have provided plenty of vegetation and good conditions for substrate-targeted feeders.