Dicynodonts 3

More dicynodont diversity! Once again, these were not dinosaurs, but early synapsids - the group to which mammals belong. But dicynodonts are not direct ancestors to mammals, or particularly close to the ancestors of mammals, they are merely one group among many other early synapsids. Synapsids were very diverse before the first dinosaurs appeared on earth.

Kannemeyeria was one of the dicynodonts that lived in the early and middle Triassic, after the end-Permian mass extinction. It was one of the largest dicynodonts, reaching 3 m in length, and lived in South Africa. There was a variety of different kinds; similar species have been found in Argentina, India and China.

Placerias ('broad body') was a relative of Kannemeyeria, its fossils being found in America, dating from the upper Triassic. It was very large, reaching 3.5 m in length. Placerias, like most dicynodonts, had two downward pointing tusks in the upper jaw but it seems these were extensions of the upper jaw rather than true teeth, and were probably covered in a horny sheeth like the rest of the toothless beak. Placerias might have been semi-aquatic like hippos, and also seems to have lived in small herds.

Diictodon was a smallish dicynodont, about 50 cm/20" in length. It lived in the Permian, thus earlier than the above two. It was adapted for digging, with strong forelimbs and a long, low body. Fossils of them have been found in their burrows, which were up to 1.5 m/5 ft in length. They may have used the burrows as shelters, going outside to eat (it was a plant-eater like the vast majority of dicynodonts) or might have dug up bulbs and tubers and other underground parts of plants. They lived in small groups.

Daptocephalus was one of the largest dicynodonts living during the Permian, reaching about 2 m in length. Like Diictodon its fossils were found in South Africa.