A minion of the black ranger!
name:Dimetrodon (Die-met-roh-don) - two measure teeth
animal type: synapsid pelycosaur reptile
lived: 282 - 256 mya
size: 0.5 - 3.5 meters long
diet: carnivore
found: North America, Europe and Russia
fossil:
Often mistaken for a dinosaur the dimetrodon was a big reptile known for its mobility and the starting of the evolution for the world’s largest reptiles. It’s large sail on its back was the most obvious features on it. The large sail was used to regulate the reptiles body temperature. The reptile alright had a huge advantage over amphibians as the reptiles could hold moisture within their skin thus giving them an advantage in the arid climates. On top of that, the sail increased its body surface area by nearly 50% thus it would provide more skin for the sun to heat. The sail could turned toward the sun in the cooler mornings to gain more heat, regulating the temperature and raising its metabolism.
The dimetrodon would have hunted with its advanced smell and sight. It would hunt on land, sometimes in water, in swamps and even in the mountains. It would eat almost anything, including its own young. It was one of the first tetrapod to have teeth of differnet sizes therefore allowing it to catch a wide range of animals. It would eat efficiently with its strong jaw, and chewing allowed it’s food to be digested quickly.
Dimetrodon was a pelycosaur, a group of animals that may have looked like primitive dinosaurs but is more closely related to mammals.
