Dimetrodon – Cynognathus Product Features: 2 Toys in One Unzip and Flip Action Real Animals and Real Science Cute, Fun and Educational Ages 5+ Item is available now: USD $20.00

Before the dinosaurs were the dominant creature on Earth there were reptiles like Dimetrodon who ruled the land. A major extinction that happened between the Permian and Triassic periods, wiped out many of the land animals and drastically changed the habitat. The surviving descendants of Dimetrodon evolved to be smaller and started to develop “mammal-like” features which helped protect them against the new kings of the Earth, the dinosaurs.

Check out the video below!

Dimetrodon

Year : 280 million years ago
Era : Early Permian
Classification : Synapsids
Habitat : Fossils found in US, Europe and Russia
Size : 11ft / 3.5m
Weight : 440lbs / 200kg
Diet : Carnivore

Dimetrodon means “two types of teeth” due to the fact that it had both canine teeth for ripping and shearing teeth for cutting it’s food. Dimetrodon is not a dinosaur and as a synapsid, is distantly related to modern mammals. Synapsids were the first tetrapods to evolve differentiated teeth, which eventually gave rise to the various kinds of teeth present in modern mammals. The most recognizable feature of Dimetrodon is the large sail on its back. The sail was probably used to regulate body temperature.

Cynognathus

Year : 245 million years ago
Era : Early Triassic
Classification : Cynodontia
Habitat : Fossils found in South Africa, South America, China and Antarctica
Size : 3.3ft / 1m
Weight : 55lbs / 25kg
Diet : Carnivore

Cynognathus means “Dog Jaw” because it had three types of teeth that allowed it to begin processing food before it swallowed. Cynognathus is part of a family of “mammal like reptiles” and is considered an ancestor of modern mammals. It had pit structures in its snout that indicate groupings of nerves that would support sensory whiskers. Cynognathus is though to have been covered in fur and warm-blooded with a high metabolic rate.