Lystrosaurus
genus of therapsids (fossil)
Lystrosaurus is an extinct genus of herbivorous dicynodont therapsid from the late Permian and Lower Triassic epochs (about 250 million years ago).
| Lystrosaurus Temporal range: Upper Permian–Lower Triassic, 255–250 mya
| |
|---|---|
| |
| Lystrosaurus hedini skeleton exposed at the Natural history museum of Zürich | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Synapsida |
| Clade: | Therapsida |
| Suborder: | †Anomodontia |
| Clade: | †Dicynodontia |
| Family: | †Lystrosauridae |
| Genus: | †Lystrosaurus Cope, 1870 |
| Species | |
It lived in what is now Antarctica, India, China, Mongolia, Russia and South Africa. Four to six species are known. They ranged in size from that of a small dog to 2.5 meters long.[1]
Lystrosaurus survived the Permian-Triassic extinction event, 252 million years ago. In the Lower Triassic, they were the most common terrestrial vertebrates. In some fossil beds they make up as many as 95% of the individuals.[2] Researchers have offered various ideas for why they survived the extinction and thrived in the early Triassic.
References change
- ↑ Cluver, Michael Albert (1978). Fossil reptiles of the South African Karoo. The South African Museum. ISBN 9780908407583.
- ↑ Damiani R.J.; Neveling J.; Modesto S.P. & Yates A.M. (2004). "Barendskraal, a diverse amniote locality from the Lystrosaurus assemblage zone, Early Triassic of South Africa". Palaeontologia Africana. 39: 53–62.