248-286 Million Years Ago
Highlights of the Permian
- A great mass extinction took place at the end of the Permian. 90% to 95% of all marine species and 70% of all terrestrial vertebrates went extinct. This was the largest mass extinction in all of Earth’s history
- Pangea is now complete
- Very dry temperatures in the interior of Pangea
- Plants with seeds developed, replacing the swamp plants
- Time of coral reef building
- Development of the first large herbivores and carnivores
Permian Animals (Click to jump to Dinosaur)
- Dimetrodon, “Two Measure Teeth”
- Keichousaurus hui
- Captorhinus agui “Capture Nose”
- Mesosaurus Brazilensis “Middle Lizard”
- Discosauriscus austriacus
Dimetrodon, “Two Measure Teeth”
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Order: Synapsids, mammal-like reptiles. Not a member of the dinosaur family
- Length: 3 meters
- When did I live? The Permian Period, 270 million years ago
- Where? North America
- What family did I belong to?Pelycosaurs, which means “basin lizard”
- What food did I eat? I preyed on small reptiles
- What special feature did I have? My elongated webbed spine served as air-conditioning for my body
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Order: Nothosauroidea
- Length: 15-30 cm
- When did I live? Triassic, about 250-200 million years ago
- Where? China
- What family did I belong to?Pachypleurosauria, Keichosaurus
- What food did I eat? I had very sharp teeth, which indicates that I ate fish
- What special feature did I have? I had a mobile pelvis so I gave birth to live young rather than laying eggs
Captorhinus agui “Capture Nose”
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Order: Captorhinida
- Length: 40 cm
- When did I live? Early Permian 286 to 245 million years ago
- Where? North America
- What family did I belong to?Captorhinidae captorhindus
- What food did I eat? Insects, snails, other reptiles and amphibians
- What special feature did I have? I am called a “stem reptile”, which means that it is believed that I am the ancestral link to all modern reptiles, the dinosaurs, mammals and birds.
Mesosaurus Brazilensis “Middle Lizard”
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Order: Mesosauria
- Length: 1 meter
- When did I live? Cisuralian, 299-280 million years ago
- Where? Southern Africa and eastern Southern America (evidence of continental drift)
- What family did I belong to?Mesosaurudae Mesosaurus
- What food did I eat? It is believed that I used to filter plankton from the water
- What special feature did I have? I was also one of the first reptiles to live in the water again after the Devonian. My head is triangular, unlike those of other early reptiles which had diamond-shaped heads.
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Order: Sauropterygia
- Length: roughly 20cm
- When did I live? Permian, 285 million years ago
- Where? Letovice, Czech Republic
- What family did I belong to? Discosaurus austriacus
- What food did I eat? Unclear
- What special feature did I have? I had a wide jaw, with sharp teeth, short limbs and a long tail