Where is Cynognathus found?

South Africa
Cynognathus is an extinct mammal-like reptile. The name literally means ‘dog jaw’. Cynognathus was as large as a modern wolf and lived during the early to mid Triassic period (250 to 240 million years ago). It is found as fossils only in South Africa and South America.

What time period did Cynognathus live?

247.2 million years ago – 228 million years ago (Anisian – Carnian)
Cynognathus/Lived

Is a Cynognathus a dinosaur?

Cynognathus is an extinct genus of large-bodied cynodontian therapsids that lived in the Middle Triassic. Cynognathus was a 1.2-metre (3 ft 11 in) long predator closely related to mammals and had a southern hemispheric distribution.

What type of organism is Cynognathus?

Cynognathus was a cynodont (a mammal-like reptile, not a dinosaur) that was the size of a wolf. This therapsid lived on open plains during the early to middle Triassic period, roughly 230-245 million years ago.

Can a Cynognathus swim?

Cynognathus and Lystrosaurus were land reptiles and were unable to swim. Grooves and rock deposits left by ancient glaciers are found today on different continents very close to the equator. This would indicate that the glaciers either formed in the middle of the ocean and/or covered most of the Earth.

What did a Cynognathus eat?

Diet and Teeth: Cynognathus was a fast-moving carnivore (a meat-eater). It had powerful jaws and dog-like teeth, including sharp incisors, long canines, and shearing cheek teeth. This predator hunted herbivores like Kannemeyeria (another early therapsid) in packs.

Can the Cynognathus swim?

What did a Cynognathus look like?

Cynognathus was approximately as large as a modern wolf and, like the wolf, was an active predator. The body of Cynognathus was not massively constructed. The tail was short, and the limbs were tucked well under and close to the body, providing the potential for rapid and efficient locomotion.

Why did Cynognathus go extinct?

As the climate became more arid, the plant species upon which the prey of Cynognathus fed died out, and a (food) chain of events followed. Cynognathus became extinct sometime in the middle Triassic, about 215 million years ago.

Why did no one believe Wegener’s theory?

The main reason that Wegener’s hypothesis was not accepted was because he suggested no mechanism for moving the continents. He thought the force of Earth’s spin was sufficient to cause continents to move, but geologists knew that rocks are too strong for this to be true.

What was missing from the continental drift theory?

The greatest problem facing Wegener was the lack of direct evidence for the movements of continents (no GPS at the time!) and no mechanism was known to be powerful enough to move entire continents.

Where are the fossils of the Cynognathus found?

The now extinct Cynognathus, which translates to “dog jaw”, was a mammal- like reptile. Roaming the terrains during the Triassic period (250 to 240 million years ago), the Cynognathus was as large as a modern wolf. Its fossils are found only in South Africa and South America.

When did Cynognathus go out of the world?

Home on the Range in Gondwana. As the climate became more arid, the plant species upon which the prey of Cynognathus fed died out, and a (food) chain of events followed. Cynognathus became extinct sometime in the middle Triassic, about 215 million years ago.

What does the name Cynognathus mean in Greek?

The genus name Cynognathus (pronounced ‘sigh-nog-NAY-thus’) means ‘dog jaw.’ It wasn’t a dog, obviously, but it did have a somewhat dog-shaped head and lots of canine-looking teeth. It belonged to the group of mammal-like reptiles called therapsids, and more specifically a sub-group known as cynodonts (meaning ‘dog teeth’).

Is the Lystrosaurus the same as a Cynognathus?

Roaming the terrains during the Triassic period (250 to 240 million years ago), the Cynognathus was as large as a modern wolf. Its fossils are found only in South Africa and South America. As a land dominant species, the Cynognathus would not have been capable of migrating across the Atlantic. Modern day representation of the Lystrosaurus.

Where is Cynognathus found? South Africa Cynognathus is an extinct mammal-like reptile. The name literally means ‘dog jaw’. Cynognathus was as large as a modern wolf and lived during the early to mid Triassic period (250 to 240 million years ago). It is found as fossils only in South Africa and South America. What time…