World of Dinosaurs/Animals to Know/Dimetrodon

Basics
Dimetrodon means "Two Measures of Teeth".

It gained this name because it has teeth of varying sizes.

It lived during the Permian Period.

Anatomy
Dimetrodon is a four-legged egg-laying animal that lived before the time of dinosaurs.

They are most famous for their sail that is made out of spines extending from the vertebrae.

Phylogeny
Dimetrodons are synapsids.

This means they are more closely related to mammals than any living reptile.

Biomechanics
Dimetrodons probably used their sails to regulate their temperature.

Fossil Record
Fossils are found in Oklahoma, Ohio, Texas, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona.

It is also found in Germany.

Ecology
Dimetrodon lived near aquatic environments where fish would have thrived.

Biogeography
Dimetrodon probably inhabited areas surrounding deltas.