Synapsid
Dimetrodon
Many of its fossils come from the Red Beds of Texas and Oklahoma.
Dimetrodon lived before the dinosaurs and belonged to another branch of animals - the synapsids.
Three stages. One companion.
Game artwork
AI-generated, stylized game illustrations. These designs and growth stages are imaginative, not scientific reconstructions.
Dimetrodon at a glance
- Diet
- Carnivore
- It is interpreted as a consumer of other animals. Hunting and scavenging are not mutually exclusive behaviors.
- When it lived
- Permian
- Group
- Sphenacodontidae
- Sphenacodontids
- Fossil locations
- Texas, Oklahoma, Germany
- Places where fossils have been found
Beyond the game
The real Dimetrodon
It walked on four legs and carried a large dorsal sail supported by extensions of the vertebrae. Teeth of different sizes were combined in the jaws. Many fossils come from the so-called Red Beds of Texas and Oklahoma.
Mammals also belong to the synapsid branch. That does not make Dimetrodon a modern mammal, but it helps place it on the family tree. Its reptile-like outline and frequent appearance alongside dinosaur toys can be misleading.
This grouping describes evolutionary relationships. Its members share ancestors; they do not form a chain in which one must turn into another.
Fossil discoveries
Selected fossil records · present-day map
Map references
Map: Natural Earth, public domain. Fossil records: linked collections and publications.Sources & text credits
Explore the references behind this profile.
- Dimetrodon
Wikipedia contributors · Spanish source
Educational text adapted and translated from this article by Wikipedia contributors. The revision link, when captured in the source catalogue, identifies the source version.
- Dimetrodon
Wikipedia contributors · English source
Educational text adapted and translated from this article by Wikipedia contributors. The revision link, when captured in the source catalogue, identifies the source version.
- Sphenacodontidae
Wikipedia contributors · English source
Educational text adapted and translated from this article by Wikipedia contributors. The revision link, when captured in the source catalogue, identifies the source version.
- The mammalian lineage
Wikipedia contributors · English source
Educational text adapted and translated from this article by Wikipedia contributors. The revision link, when captured in the source catalogue, identifies the source version.
Educational text adapted in English from the existing Wikipedia-backed Dinosgacha catalogue and linked articles by Wikipedia contributors.
Existing English translations have been selected and arranged for this encyclopedia. Repeated period and diet text is omitted where those fields already carry it. Unknown facts remain unfilled; unreviewed geological age phrases are omitted and period labels replace numerical ages.
The adapted educational text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0. This text license does not apply to the game illustrations.