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Description
254 million years ago during the Wuchiapingian stage of the late Permian period in what is now the Cistecephalus Assemblage Zone in the Karoo Basin of South Africa, a small furry creature briefly sticks its nose out of the water for air before diving back under the surface in search of prey. Despite its appearance, the creature is not a mammal, though it is closely related to the ancestors of true mammals. This is a Procynosuchus delaharpeae, a 60-centimeters long cynodont synapsid. With a maneuverable body, rudder-like tail and webbed feet, the furry critter is well-adapted for swimming but it must still surface to breathe, and it rests on land too. To catch its prey of choice however, the cynodont must swim as it is a fish hunter. Diving back below the surface, it notices a 30-centimeter fish, Atherstonia scutata, and starts chasing it.

A second drawing made for Synapsid Week (youtu.be/ztN6-pmxJns ). One of the earliest known cynodonts, Procynosuchus is known from fossils dating to the Permian period found in South Africa, Zambia and Germany. In the past it has also been referred to under the names Cyrbasiodon and Parathrinaxodon, but these two are now deemed synonyms of Procynosuchus. A notable thing about this proto-mammal is that various features of its body suggest it was a semiaquatic animal. Its vertebrae show a flexibility that would allow it to swim with an eel-like motion and its rather long tail could serve as a rudder that would have been its main propelling force through the water. Its wide, flat feet could also serve as flippers and may have been webbed. With teeth suggesting a carnivorous diet, Procynosuchus probably preyed on aquatic animals like fish and small amphibians by diving underwater in chase of them, but probably rested on land as well. In terms of its lifestyle and how it is a small, furry animal, it is not dissimilar to extant river otters.

Atherstonia is a genus of fish in the order Palaeonisciformes. This order first appeared in the Silurian period and died out in the Cretaceous, but the order is quite likely paraphyletic. The genus Atherstonia seems to be very obscure though and my internet searches have yielded very little information about it. From what I could find, it was around 30 centimeters long and there were two species: A. scutata from the late Permian of South Africa and A. madagascariensis from the Triassic of Madagascar. I also couldn't find out whether this was a freshwater or saltwater fish, so I'll leave it to your imagination whether this drawing shows a river or coastal region. Procynosuchus is believed to be a freshwater creature but river otters can also be found living on coastlines and hunting in the sea so maybe some of them would venture out to sea occasionally.

Also, first Atherstonia on DA!

Description
254 million years ago during the Wuchiapingian stage of the late Permian period in what is now the Cistecephalus Assemblage Zone in the Karoo Basin of South Africa, a small furry creature briefly sticks its nose out of the water for air before diving back under the surface in search of prey. Despite its appearance, the creature is not a mammal, though it is closely related to the ancestors of true mammals. This is a Procynosuchus delaharpeae, a 60-centimeters long cynodont synapsid. With a maneuverable body, rudder-like tail and webbed feet, the furry critter is well-adapted for swimming but it must still surface to breathe, and it rests on land too. To catch its prey of choice however, the cynodont must swim as it is a fish hunter. Diving back below the surface, it notices a 30-centimeter fish, Atherstonia scutata, and starts chasing it.

A second drawing made for Synapsid Week (youtu.be/ztN6-pmxJns ). One of the earliest known cynodonts, Procynosuchus is known from fossils dating to the Permian period found in South Africa, Zambia and Germany. In the past it has also been referred to under the names Cyrbasiodon and Parathrinaxodon, but these two are now deemed synonyms of Procynosuchus. A notable thing about this proto-mammal is that various features of its body suggest it was a semiaquatic animal. Its vertebrae show a flexibility that would allow it to swim with an eel-like motion and its rather long tail could serve as a rudder that would have been its main propelling force through the water. Its wide, flat feet could also serve as flippers and may have been webbed. With teeth suggesting a carnivorous diet, Procynosuchus probably preyed on aquatic animals like fish and small amphibians by diving underwater in chase of them, but probably rested on land as well. In terms of its lifestyle and how it is a small, furry animal, it is not dissimilar to extant river otters.

Atherstonia is a genus of fish in the order Palaeonisciformes. This order first appeared in the Silurian period and died out in the Cretaceous, but the order is quite likely paraphyletic. The genus Atherstonia seems to be very obscure though and my internet searches have yielded very little information about it. From what I could find, it was around 30 centimeters long and there were two species: A. scutata from the late Permian of South Africa and A. madagascariensis from the Triassic of Madagascar. I also couldn't find out whether this was a freshwater or saltwater fish, so I'll leave it to your imagination whether this drawing shows a river or coastal region. Procynosuchus is believed to be a freshwater creature but river otters can also be found living on coastlines and hunting in the sea so maybe some of them would venture out to sea occasionally.

Also, first Atherstonia on DA!