Temporal range: Cisuralian to Guadalupian (Asselian to Roadian), 295–270 Ma
PreꞒ
Ꞓ
O
S
D
C
P
T
J
K
Pg
N
Skeleton of D. limbatus, Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Karlsruhe
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Clade:
Synapsida
Family:
†Sphenacodontidae
Subfamily:
†Sphenacodontinae
Genus:
†Dimetrodon Cope, 1878
Type species
†Dimetrodon limbatus
Cope, 1877
Species
See below
Synonyms
Genus synonymy
Bathygnathus Leidy, 1854
Embolophorus Cope, 1878
Theropleura Cope, 1880
Bathyglyptus Case, 1911
Eosyodon Olson, 1962
Species synonymy
Bathygnathus borealis Leidy, 1854
Clepsydrops limbatus Cope, 1877
Clepsydrops gigas Cope, 1878
Clepsydrops natalis Cope, 1878
Dimetrodon gigas Cope, 1878
Dimetrodon incisivus Cope, 1878
Dimetrodon rectiformis Cope, 1878
Embolophorus dollovianus Cope, 1878
Dimetrodon semiradicatus Cope, 1881
Clepsydrops macrospondylus Cope 1884
Dimetrodon platycentrus Case, 1907
Theropleura grandis Case, 1907
Bathyglyptus theodori Case, 1911
Dimetrodon maximus Romer, 1936
Eosyodon hudsoni Olson, 1962
Dimetrodon (/daɪˈmiːtrəˌdɒn/ⓘ[1] or /daɪˈmɛtrəˌdɒn/;[2] lit.'two measures of teeth') is an extinct genus of non-mammalian synapsid belonging to the family Sphenacodontidae that lived during the Cisuralian age of the Early Permian period, around 295–272 million years ago.[3][4][5] With most species measuring 1.7–4.6 m (5.6–15.1 ft) long and weighing 28–250 kg (62–551 lb), the most prominent feature of Dimetrodon is the large neural spine sail on its back formed by elongated spines extending from the vertebrae. It was an obligate quadruped (it could only walk on four legs) and had a tall, curved skull with large teeth of different sizes set along the jaws. Most fossils have been found in the Southwestern United States, the majority of these coming from a geological deposit called the Red Beds of Texas and Oklahoma. More recently, its fossils have also been found in Germany and over a dozen species have been named since the genus was first erected in 1878.
Dimetrodon is often mistaken for a dinosaur or as a contemporary of dinosaurs in popular culture, but it became extinct some 40 million years before the advent of dinosaurs.[6][7] Although reptile-like in appearance and physiology, Dimetrodon is much more closely related to mammals than to reptiles, though it is not a direct ancestor of mammals.[4]Dimetrodon is assigned to the "non-mammalian synapsids", a group traditionally – but incorrectly – called "mammal-like reptiles",[4] but now known as stem mammals. This groups Dimetrodon together with mammals in the clade Synapsida, while reptiles are placed in a separate clade, Sauropsida. Single openings in the skull behind each eye, known as temporal fenestrae, and other skull features distinguish Dimetrodon and true mammals from most of the earliest sauropsids.
Dimetrodon was probably one of the apex predators of the Cisuralian ecosystems, feeding on fish and tetrapods, including reptiles and amphibians. Smaller Dimetrodon species may have had different ecological roles. The sail of Dimetrodon may have been used to stabilize its spine or to heat and cool its body as a form of thermoregulation.[8] Some recent studies argue that the sail would have been ineffective at removing heat from the body, due to large species being discovered with small sails and small species being discovered with large sails, essentially ruling out heat regulation as its main purpose. The sail was most likely used in courtship display, including threatening away rivals or showing off to potential mates.[9][10]
^"Dimetrodon". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 2020-03-22.
^"Dimetrodon". Paleobiology Database. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
^ abcAngielczyk, K. D. (2009). "Dimetrodon is Not a Dinosaur: Using Tree Thinking to Understand the Ancient Relatives of Mammals and their Evolution". Evolution: Education and Outreach. 2 (2): 257–271. doi:10.1007/s12052-009-0117-4.
^Huttenlocker, A. K.; Rega, E. (2012). "The Paleobiology and Bone Microstructure of Pelycosauriangrade Synapsids". In Chinsamy, A. (ed.). Forerunners of Mammals: Radiation, Histology, Biology. Indiana University Press. pp. 90–119. ISBN 978-0-253-35697-0.
^"Famous Prehistoric Animals That Weren't Actually Dinosaurs". Feb 17, 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-04-07.
^Black, Riley. "The Dimetrodon in Your Family Tree". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
^Cloudsley-Thompson, J. L. (2005-01-19). Ecology and Behaviour of Mesozoic Reptiles. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 978-3-540-22421-1.
^Fiesta, Enrique; Davidson, John (2015-01-10). Dimetrodon - Permian Predator. Mendon Cottage Books. ISBN 978-1-310-19617-1.
^Zachos, Frank; Asher, Robert (2018-10-22). Mammalian Evolution, Diversity and Systematics. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. ISBN 978-3-11-034155-3.
Dimetrodon (/daɪˈmiːtrəˌdɒn/ or /daɪˈmɛtrəˌdɒn/; lit. 'two measures of teeth') is an extinct genus of non-mammalian synapsid belonging to the family Sphenacodontidae...
to 272 million years ago during the Early Permian. Like the well known Dimetrodon, Secodontosaurus is a carnivorous member of the Eupelycosauria family...
period also have tall dorsal sails, most famously the large apex predator Dimetrodon. However, the sail on Edaphosaurus is different in shape and morphology...
Dimetrodon borealis, formerly known as Bathygnathus borealis, is an extinct species of pelycosaur-grade synapsid that lived about 270 million years ago...
Late Pennsylvanian to middle Permian "pelycosaurs". The most recent one, Dimetrodon angelensis, is from the latest Kungurian or, more likely, early Roadian...
Late Carboniferous and Early Permian periods. Like the closely related Dimetrodon, Sphenacodon was a carnivorous member of the Eupelycosauria family Sphenacodontidae...
A group of living Dimetrodon appear in Jurassic World Dominion. Originally, Nolan's team was only budgeted to sculpt a Dimetrodon head. However, lead...
included the largest and fiercest animals of the early Permian such as Dimetrodon. Nonmammalian synapsids were traditionally—and incorrectly—called "mammal-like...
species were much smaller. Well-known pelycosaurs include the genera Dimetrodon, Sphenacodon, Edaphosaurus, and Ophiacodon. Pelycosaur fossils have been...
the famous Dimetrodon, which is sometimes mistaken for a dinosaur, and was the largest predator of the period. Like Edaphosaurus, Dimetrodon also had a...
Texas was a coastal plain inhabited by early relatives of mammals like Dimetrodon and Edaphosaurus. During the Triassic, a great river system formed in...
later, to predators of other tetrapods. Some scientists assert that Dimetrodon "was the first terrestrial vertebrate to develop the curved, serrated...
unlike the thin rods seen in the pelycosaur finbacks Edaphosaurus and Dimetrodon, contrasting also with the thicker spines in the iguanodontian Ouranosaurus...
animals, including pterosaurs, mosasaurs, ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, and Dimetrodon, while often popularly conceived of as dinosaurs, are not taxonomically...
that includes mammals and their extinct relatives, such as Moschops and Dimetrodon. The zygomatic process of the temporal arises by two roots: an anterior...
Cephalozord (based on the Pachycephalosaurus), Dimetrozord (based on the Dimetrodon), Stegozord (based on the Stegosaurus), Parasaurzord (based on the Parasaurolophus)...
and sauropsids, were in fact synapsids. This includes the well-known Dimetrodon. When referring to the ancestors and close relatives of mammals, paleontologists...
Belong "Where Did You Go?", a song by the Doubleclicks from the album Dimetrodon "Where Did You Go?", a song by the Four Tops from the 1965 album Four...
sprawling, bulky, possibly cold-blooded, and had small brains. Some, such as Dimetrodon, had large sails that might have helped raise their body temperature....
Society of Edinburgh B. 66: 59–93. Angielczyk, Kenneth D. (June 2009). "Dimetrodon Is Not a Dinosaur: Using Tree Thinking to Understand the Ancient Relatives...
Diapsids and synapsids flourished in the new dry climate. Creatures such as Dimetrodon and Edaphosaurus ruled the new continent. The first conifers evolved,...
and diversified in the new dry climate, particularly synapsids such as Dimetrodon, Edaphosaurus and therapsids, which gave rise to the ancestors of modern...
by Candy Coded from Moonlight, 2015 "Wonder", by The Doubleclicks from Dimetrodon, 2014 "Wonder", by Eden from Vertigo, 2018 "Wonder", by Hillsong United...
Permian epoch. Ctenorhachis was related to Dimetrodon, but did not belong to the same subfamily as Dimetrodon and Sphenacodon, being a more basal member...
Global Information
