[1] It is a monospecific genus,[1] consisting of the type-species R. broomiana, which was classified by Lieuwe Dirk Boonstra in 1948 and named in honor of Robert Broom for his study of South African mammal-like reptiles.

[4] Robertia is a member of the family Pylaecephalidae, which includes other small dicynodont therapsids with tusks such as Diictodon, Prosictodon, and Eosimops.

[5] Anomodonts and dicynodont subclade members were the most common species of the Permian and Triassic periods and were the first fossil vertebrates uncovered in the South African Karoo.

[6] Noticing the two prominent canines, he assigned it to a new genus, “Bidental.”[6] Skull specimens were referred to Sir Richard Owen at the British Museum of Natural History, who placed them under the designation Dicynodon in the 1840s.

[6] As more of these mammal-like specimens were discovered during the early twentieth century, hundreds of species began to be described and amassed under the Dicynodon designation.

[5][6] In 1954, Haughton and Brink alone uncovered 54 dicynodont genera in the Karoo Basin and characterized 111 species under the single genus Dicynodon.

[7] Poor extraction and preparation of the Dicynodon type fossils and the minute differences that were used to distinguish its species contributed to the problem.

[7] Further studies examining the lower jaw, postcanine teeth,[3] and other characteristics have reduced the large amount of dicynodont taxa into fewer, more valid genera.

[5] Species of this family contains those of Diictodon and its closest relatives, having a characteristic intertemporal region and pineal foramen located in the pre-parietal.

[6] In the 1950s, Toerien worked to further characterize and refine the species under the Dicynodon designation based on criteria beyond the features of the dorsal skull.

[5] The South African Karoo Basin expands to about 300,000 km2 and contains the 145,000 km2 Beaufort Group of the Late Permian and Early Triassic.

[7] The Abrahamskraal Formation of the Beaufort group consists of the Eodicynodon, Tapinocephalus, and Pristerognathus Assemblage Zones, all of which are characterized by the prevalence and high diversity of dicynodonts.

[7] Late Permian South Africa was likely warm to hot, with average temperatures ranging from 16 to 20 °C and experienced seasonal rainfall, about 50 to 70 cm yearly, disrupting the semi-arid climate.

[1] The region’s hot, semi-arid climate dependent on intermittent rainfall may have placed pressure on the herbivorous dicynodonts of the time, turning them towards digging for rhizomes below the ground surface.

[3] Robertia is one of the pylaecephalids with the most dentary teeth,[10] which occlude with the palatine pad (a ridged region posterolateral to the main secondary palate) upon jaw retraction.

[4] Well-developed regions of attachment for muscles such as the pubo-ischio-femoralis externus, ventral adductor, femorotibialis, and gastrocnemius provide support for the sprawling gait.

[3] Robertia’s small, fragile teeth may not have played a direct role in chewing, despite their ability to run along the dentary table.

[3] Shredding from movement of the dentary along the caniniform tusks and up past the premaxilla and maxilla occurred as the lower jaw motioned propalinally.

[7] The horned beak may have allowed small dicynodonts such as Robertia to pick out individual leaves, seeds, and buds, however it is suggested that they preferred stems and rhizomes over leafy vegetation.

[4] The position and rounding of the dorsal articulation area of the femur allowed for a longer stride compared to earlier sprawling animals.