Dimetrodon Epic Attack

Despite its resemblance to dinosaurs with its sail-like back, Dimetrodon is actually a primitive synapsid that predates even the earliest dinosaurs, originating in the early Permian period approximately 290 million years ago. The name Dimetrodon, meaning ‘two measures of teeth,’ alludes to the razor-sharp teeth of this apex predator, which it employed to seize and tear flesh from its prey.

The first Dimetrodon fossils were described in 1877 by the renowned American paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope. Cope obtained the fossils from a group that had conducted excavations in the Red Beds rock formation in Texas. One year later, Cope officially named the genus Dimetrodon, initially mistaking the sail for a fin belonging to a lizard.

Dimetrodon remains have been discovered across the southern United States, extending as far as Germany. These fossils date back to a time when Europe and America formed the supercontinent known as Euramerica. The genus coexisted with a diverse array of primitive creatures such as Diplocaulus, Edaphosaurus, and Captorhinus. Dimetrodon is considered the top predator within its ecosystem.