World of Dinosaurs/Animals to Know/Dimetrodon

Basics

Dimetrodon means "Two Measures of Teeth".

It gained this name because it has teeth of varying sizes.

It lived during the Permian Period.

Anatomy

Dimetrodon is a four-legged egg-laying animal that lived before the time of dinosaurs.

They are most famous for their sail that is made out of spines extending from the vertebrae.

Note that the sail is supported by bone spines.

Phylogeny

Dimetrodons are synapsids.

This means they are more closely related to mammals than any living reptile.

Biomechanics

Dimetrodons probably used their sails to regulate their temperature.

Fossil Record

Fossils are found in Oklahoma, Ohio, Texas, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona.

It is also found in Germany.

Ecology

Dimetrodon lived near aquatic environments where fish would have thrived.

Biogeography

Dimetrodon probably inhabited areas surrounding deltas.