EVMS002 Dimetrodon/Cynognathus

EVOLVEMS are actually TWO toys in one package! Unzip & flip inside out to reval the next step in evolution! Fun and educational!

Dimetrodon was the king of his time, 280 million years ago, well before dinosaurs roamed the earth. Then the Permian-Triassic extinction occurred wiping out most of Dimetrodon's descendants. Those who survived, had to adapt to a world where they where now the under-dogs, and thus began mammal evolution.

Dimetrodon
Year : 280 million years ago
Era : Early Permian
Classification : Synapsids
Habitat : Fossils found in US, Europe and Russia
Size : 11ft / 3.5m
Weight : 440lbs / 200kg
Diet : Carnivore
Dimetrodon means "two types of teeth" due to the fact that it had both canine teeth for ripping and shearing teeth for cutting it's food. Dimetrodon is not a dinosaur and as a synapsid, is distantly related to modern mammals. Synapsids were the first tetrapods to evolve differentiated teeth, which eventually gave rise to the various kinds of teeth present in modern mammals. The most recognizable feature of Dimetrodon is the large sail on its back. The sail was probably used to regulate body temperature.

Cynognathus
Year : 245 million years ago
Era : Early Triassic
Classification : Cynodontia
Habitat : Fossils found in South Africa, South America, China and Antarctica
Size : 3.3ft / 1m
Weight : 55lbs / 25kg
Diet : Carnivore
Cynognathus means "Dog Jaw" because it had three types of teeth that allowed it to begin processing food before it swallowed. Cynognathus is part of a family of "mammal like reptiles" and is considered an ancestor of modern mammals. It had pit structures in its snout that indicate groupings of nerves that would support sensory whiskers. Cynognathus is though to have been covered in fur and warm-blooded with a high metabolic rate.