A Dimetrodon amongst Alethopteris ferns

Dimetrodon was the apex predator of its time. They came as large as 11 feet long, 4 feet tall, and weighing as much as 300 pounds. Their reptilian hide, a relative novelty for that period, ensured their survival out of water. The large sail may have helped them to regulate body temperature, a survival advantage during the extremes of hot and cold during the Early Permian. Alethopteris was a seed fern that populated much of the world during the Carboniferous and Early Permian periods. Long extinct, fossilized leaves from the Alethopteris are commonly found today

Amniote Apex Backbone Centipede Claw Crawling Dimetrodon Fang Paleobotany Paleozoic Pelycosaur Permian Scute Spine Synapsid Vegetation

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