Table of Contents
What did a Thrinaxodon look like?
Thrinaxodon was a small synapsid roughly the size of a fox and possibly covered in hair. The dentition suggests that it was a carnivore, focusing its diet mostly on insects, small herbivores and invertebrates.
Is Thrinaxodon a dinosaur?
Thrinaxodon is an extinct genus of cynodont, a cat-sized Gymnotherian….Thrinaxodon.
| Thrinaxodon Fossil range: Early Triassic | |
|---|---|
| Order: | Therapsida |
| Suborder: | Cynodontia |
| Family: | Galesauridae |
| Genus: | Thrinaxodon Seeley, 1894 |
Who discovered thrinaxodon?
This is significant because mammals didn’t evolve for another 30 million years. The Thrinaxodon fossil was found in 1954 by the renowned Karoo fossil hunter James Kitching.
When did the thrinaxodon go extinct?
Thrinaxodon, extinct genus of cynodont, a close mammal relative, found as fossils in continental deposits formed during the Early Triassic Period in southern Africa (the Triassic Period lasted from 251 million to 200 million years ago).
Why is the Thrinaxodon so important?
The rare fossils of Thrinaxodon liorhinus, a distant extinct relative of living mammals, have played a central role in understanding both early mammalian evolution and the theory of plate tectonics. Thrinaxodon lived during the early Triassic (240-245 million years ago) and was roughly the size of a house cat.
What did the Thrinaxodon evolve into?
They were the ancestors of every bat and cat, whale and primate, every human being. There in the little Thrinaxodon jaw, Dr. Crompton pointed out, was one of the more telling clues to the evolutionary trend that would be the therapsids’ destiny.
What did the Thrinaxodon eat?
Instead, Thrinaxodon probably ate little reptiles or other small vertebrates that roamed the Early Triassic of South Africa. Some of its above-ground neighbors included the large, predacious reptile Proterosuchus and the odd-looking dicynodont (distant mammal relative) Lystrosaurus.
What is Broomistega and Thrinaxodon?
Here you had two creatures from very different eras of life on Earth—the broomistega, an old world amphibian with eyes on top of its head, and the thrinaxodon, an early mammal-like lizard with differentiated teeth and possibly even whiskers.
What happened to Broomistega and Thrinaxodon?
The current thought is that the broomistega ran into the burrow to find shelter, unaware of the estivating* thrinaxodon inside. They were probably killed shortly after when flood waters filled the burrow with sediment.
What did the thrinaxodon evolve into?
Are humans Therapsids?
Therapsids were “mammal-like” reptiles and are ancestors to the mammals, including humans, found today. One group of therapsids is called dicynodonts.
Where was the Thrinaxodon found?
South Africa
Numerous Thrinaxodon specimens have been found in South Africa, many of them fossilized in a curled-up position. Abdala says: “I have always been fascinated by the preservation of Thrinaxodon fossils in a curled-up position that show even tiny bones of the skeleton preserved.
Where is the Broomistega and Thrinaxodon fossil?
Association with Thrinaxodon The cast was first found in the Karoo Basin of South Africa by paleontologist James Kitching in 1975, but was left unprepared for many years.
What is Thrinaxodon and Broomistega?
What type of animal is Thrinaxodon?
Thrinaxodon, extinct genus of cynodont, a close mammal relative, found as fossils in continental deposits formed during the Early Triassic Period in southern Africa (the Triassic Period lasted from 251 million to 200 million years ago). Thrinaxodon was a lightly built animal about 1/2 metre (1 1/2 feet) long.
When was Thrinaxodon first discovered?
Thrinaxodon was originally discovered in the Lystrosaurus Assemblage Zone of the Beaufort Group of South Africa. The genoholotype, BMNH R 511, was in 1887 described by Richard Owen as the plesiotype of Galesaurus planiceps. In 1894 it was by Harry Govier Seeley made a separate genus with as type species Thrinaxodon liorhinus.
How did Thrinaxodon survive the Permian–Triassic mass extinction?
Thrinaxodon lived just after the Permian–Triassic mass extinction event, its survival during the extinction may have been due to its burrowing habits.
Where can I find media related to Thrinaxodon?
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thrinaxodon. Tim Haines and Paul Chambers (2006). The Complete Guide to Prehistoric Life. Firefly Books Ltd., Canada. 69. David Lambert (2003).