# edaphosaurus prehistory nature animals extinctanimals reptilian sleeping donotdisturb paleoart sciart synapsids fossilfriday paleontology permian synapsida gorgonopsid cafekatart therapsids scientificillustration animalalphabets illustration extinct

Sketch portrait. Secodontosaurus, the lesser known, long-snouted relative of Dimetrodon (which usually gets all the attention). I’m not super happy with it but I don’t have more time today to keep tweaking it. This animal has a weird skull.

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2020-02-04

The herbivore apinocephalus was the largest of all non-mammal synapsids, at 4 metres in length & 2,000 kg.

(Credit: WillemSvdMerwe)

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2020-01-01

Bulbasaurus was a Permian synapsid from South Africa. It was named after its bulbous skull, however the describers said the similarity in name to a Pokemon 'may not be entirely coincidental'.

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2019-10-30

Ophiacodon is an extinct synapsid that roamed Europe & North America during the Late Carboniferous. They grew to 3 metres in length & spent a lot of time in the water.

(Credit: Mineo Shiraishi)

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2019-09-26

Morning warmup sketch for I was thinking of this scene where a Pristerognathus (therocephalian) chases a Diictodon (dicynodont) that was caught too far out of its burrow. Permian (Capitanian) of South Africa.

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2019-08-09

Today on "Dinosaurs!" weirdness, the Permian synapsid Moschops. It didn't make too many appearances in the magazines, but these two (both only credited as National History Museum) stood out to me as particularily derpy.

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2019-07-10

Congratulapsid, you’re a synapsid!

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2019-06-22

Started this sketch yesterday of a Gorgonopsid. :3

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2019-04-27

Only three groups of Synapsids/therapsids survived the end-Permian mass extinction event into the Early Triassic: dicynodonts (top), therocephalians (center), and cynodonts (bottom). Only the latter (our relatives) survived into the Jurassic.

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2018-12-12

Finished Cotylorhynchus!!! Gave this Early Permian synapsid some cornified pads on the skin to help it dig/burrow, which is what it likely did with those action figure forelimbs it's got.

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2018-11-20

I is for Ianthasaurus

A mammal like reptile of the animal group Synapsid, one of our earliest common ancestors, for the extinct series.

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2018-08-20

On this, the eve of St. Patrick's Day, I only want to remind you that our distant relatives, Dimetrodon and Sphenacodon (Permian synapsids) had appropriately-shaped tooth roots in cross-section...

Should have the colour balance issue fixed by next week.

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2018-03-17

A section through the snout of arguably the cutest little animal to ever go extinct, Diictodon! These tusked, beaked, pug-sized critters from the Permian period belonged to the Synapsida (the group that also includes mammals).

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2018-02-02