World of Dinosaurs/Animals to Know/Dimetrodon
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Note that the sail is supported by bone spines. 
Basics[edit | edit source]
Dimetrodon means "Two Measures of Teeth".
It gained this name because it has teeth of varying sizes.
It lived during the Permian Period.
Anatomy[edit | edit source]
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.
Phylogeny[edit | edit source]
Dimetrodons are synapsids.
This means they are more closely related to mammals than any living reptile.
Biomechanics[edit | edit source]
Dimetrodons probably used their sails to regulate their temperature.
Fossil Record[edit | edit source]
Fossils are found in Oklahoma, Ohio, Texas, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona.
It is also found in Germany.
Ecology[edit | edit source]
Dimetrodon lived near aquatic environments where fish would have thrived.
Biogeography[edit | edit source]
Dimetrodon probably inhabited areas surrounding deltas.