Lecture 26 - Dimetrodon: King of the Permian

This set of flashcards covers key vocabulary and concepts related to the lecture on Dimetrodon and the Permian period, highlighting significant events, classifications of prehistoric organisms, and paleoclimatic conditions.

Dimetrodon

An early synapsid reptile, often mistaken for a dinosaur, known for its distinctive sail on its back.

Pelycosaur

A clade of early synapsids, including Dimetrodon, characterized by having a single temporal fenestra.

Synapsid

A group of reptiles that includes mammals and their extinct relatives characterized by having differentiated teeth and a single temporal opening in the skull.

Gorgonopsid

A type of late Permian therapsid, predatory synapsids that were more mammal-like in structure.

Therapsids

A group of synapsids that includes modern mammals and their ancestors, dominant during the late Permian.

Orogeny

The process of mountain building, often associated with the collision of tectonic plates.

Foreland basin

A lowland area that forms adjacent to a mountain range, where sediments accumulate, often rich in organic matter.

Permian Period

A geological period lasting from 299 to 251 million years ago, characterized by the assembly of the supercontinent Pangaea.

Greatest mass extinction

The Permian-Triassic extinction event, resulting in the loss of approximately 90% of species and 95% of marine species.

Pangaea

The supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras, comprising almost all of Earth's landmasses.