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Description
Dimetrodon ("two measures of teeth") was not a dinosaur. It was a synapsid, a kind of mammal-like reptile, that lived 300-270 million years ago in the Permian. It walked low to the ground, unable to run very fast, but was a fairly effective predator, eating fish, amphibians, and smaller reptiles, which it could do with ease thanks to its powerful fangs. The kink in its jaw let Dimetrodon have and use long teeth without them fouling its jaw. Dimetrodon's most distinctive trait, though, was the giant sail on its back, whose purpose was stability, temperature regulation, or sexual display. This skeleton is on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC.

Description
Dimetrodon ("two measures of teeth") was not a dinosaur. It was a synapsid, a kind of mammal-like reptile, that lived 300-270 million years ago in the Permian. It walked low to the ground, unable to run very fast, but was a fairly effective predator, eating fish, amphibians, and smaller reptiles, which it could do with ease thanks to its powerful fangs. The kink in its jaw let Dimetrodon have and use long teeth without them fouling its jaw. Dimetrodon's most distinctive trait, though, was the giant sail on its back, whose purpose was stability, temperature regulation, or sexual display. This skeleton is on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC.