Wheja's Sketchbook 14/07/17 - Dimetrodon Display

250 Million BCE
Dimetrodon is pretty commonly known throughout the non-scientific community, but generally for the wrong reasons. Most will describe it as one of their favorite dinosaurs and put them alongside creatures that lived almost an entire era later such as Tyrannosaurus and Apatosaurus. Not only is the time displacement off here (Dimetrodon lived before modern plants even came about,) but the previous statement is a taxonomical nightmare.
See, one of the most prominent features of this beast besides its impressive display of spines is its namesake- the two forms of teeth in its jaw. Unlike other reptiles, Dimetrodon had a set of slicing teeth in the front as well as a set of grinding molars in the back. this non-uniformity is a rare feature in the animal kingdom and is only shared by one other group of animals. Believe it or not, this is a sign that this creature and its relatives evolved not into dinosaurs, but into mammals.
This says a lot about what we should be thinking about its anatomy (for instance, it should be covered in proto-fur or leathery skin instead of true scales,) but has also led to some misconceptions that have lasted for generations. Until recently, most experts surmised that the spines, some reaching a little under a meter long, were ornamented by a sail which would have held blood vessels and been used to warm the creature up in the morning sun. This makes sense given the above observation, placing it somewhere along the road for mammalian endothermy, but there are a few conflicts in the data. The most telling of which is that of several spines braking and healing in ways that would not be possible with a sail pulling them in every direction. This means that, at the very least, the sail likely did not cover the entire backbone or, at most, were almost completely bare. (Source)
Despite being one of the most common and well-known predators from the mid-Permian, there is still a great deal we have to learn about Dimetrodon. We can only make estimations based off its bones, and even those are always forcing us to second-guess ourselves. Even so, with each new bone comes a more complete understanding of this creature, the world it lived in, and, in a roundabout way, our own time as well.

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Artist's Rant:
Hey, guys! Sorry about the long wait for this one. Finals have finally kicked in, and this last week has been a complete nightmare. Even worse is that I'm not even done yet- the next three days will still be nothing but schoolwork, test-taking, cleaning, and packing for the trip home. After this next week, though, everything should be a lot more regular. I'm still working things out, but you can rest assured that while this site may take on many forms and topics over the years, I'm still dedicated to make it the best, most unique experience it can be. Thank you for your dedication, and stay tuned for more!
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