Robertia was a small, primitive dicynodont

Dicynodont

Dicynodontia is a taxon of anomodont therapsids or mammal-like reptiles. Dicynodonts were small to large herbivorous animals with two tusks, hence their name, which means 'two dog tooth'...

, and among the earlier members of this group. The type species

Type species

In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...

 R. broomiana was named in 1981. It is known from the Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone

Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone

The Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone is a geological stratum and is the thickest faunal zone of the Beaufort Group, in which has been found a rich variety of early therapsids. The name refers to Tapinocephalus, a genus of large herbivorous dinocephalian synapsids that lived during the Middle Permian...

 of the South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

n Karoo

Karoo

The Karoo is a semi-desert region of South Africa. It has two main sub-regions - the Great Karoo in the north and the Little Karoo in the south. The 'High' Karoo is one of the distinct physiographic provinces of the larger South African Platform division.-Great Karoo:The Great Karoo has an area of...

, and was about 20 centimetres (7.9 in) in length.

Robertia possessed a moderately wide skull roof

Skull roof

The skull roof , or the roofing bones of the skull are a set of bones covering the brain, eyes and nostrils in bony fishes and all land living vertebrates. The bones are derived from dermal bone, hence the alternative name dermatocranium...

, small postcanine teeth, and the palatine bone

Palatine bone

The palatine bone is a bone in many species of the animal kingdom, commonly termed the palatum .-Human anatomy:...

 in the roof of its mouth was not as reduced as in its more successful relative, Diictodon

Diictodon

Diictodon was a genus of therapsid, roughly 45 cm long. It belonged to the sub-group Dicynodontia. These mammal-like synapsids lived during the Late Permian period, approximately 255 million years ago. Fossils have been found in Africa and Asia...

. It had a notch immediately in front of the tusk-like canines on the upper jaw

Maxilla

The maxilla is a fusion of two bones along the palatal fissure that form the upper jaw. This is similar to the mandible , which is also a fusion of two halves at the mental symphysis. Sometimes The maxilla (plural: maxillae) is a fusion of two bones along the palatal fissure that form the upper...

, which would presumably have held tough plant matter, such as stems and twigs, before the animal severed them with its horny beak.