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Dimetrodon (/ d aɪ ˈ m iː t r ə ˌ d ɒ n / ⓘ [1] or / d aɪ ˈ m ɛ t r ə ˌ d ɒ n /; [2] lit. ' two measures of teeth ') is an extinct genus of sphenacodontid synapsid tetrapods that lived during the Cisuralian age of the Early Permian period, around 295–272 million years ago.
Dimetrodon is an extinct genus of synapsid that lived during the Early Permian, around 299–270 million years ago (Ma). It is a member of the family Sphenacodontidae . The most prominent feature of Dimetrodon is the large sail on its back formed by elongated spines extending from the vertebrae.
A freshwater aquatic food web. The blue arrows show a complete food chain (algae → daphnia → gizzard shad → largemouth bass → great blue heron). A food web is the natural interconnection of food chains and a graphical representation of what-eats-what in an ecological community.
Restoration of two individuals of Sphenacodon. The skull is long, deep and narrow, an adaptation for strong jaw muscles. The front teeth are large and dagger-like, whereas the teeth in the sides and rear of the jaw are much smaller (hence the name of the well-known genus Dimetrodon – "two-measure tooth", although all members of the family have this attribute).
An example of a topological food web (image courtesy of USDA) [1]. The soil food web is the community of organisms living all or part of their lives in the soil. It describes a complex living system in the soil and how it interacts with the environment, plants, and animals.
Sphenacodontoidea is a node-based clade that is defined to include the most recent common ancestor of Sphenacodontidae and Therapsida and its descendants (including mammals). [1]
Lake Huron food web based on: (2003). "Compartments revealed in food-web structure". "Compartments revealed in food-web structure". Nature 426 (6964): 282–285.
In Dimetrodon, the neural spines develop into long, narrow, cylindrical projections that support a tall vertical dorsal sail that ends near the base of the tail. In Sphenacodon , the neural spines are enlarged but retain a flat-tipped, blade-like shape along the back and tail, and form a crest rather than a tall sail.