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Description

Cynognathus is one of the best-known proto-mammals. Its scientific name means 'dog-jaw'. It was really getting towards the mammalian condition: it had a secondary palate, and could thus breathe while chewing; it had diversified teeth - incisors, canines and post-canines - and likely could chew its food well. It appears to have had a diaphragm, which would have made for more efficient breathing and a more active lifestyle. Its forelegs sprawled a bit, but its hindlegs were positioned upright, so it could run fairly well. There's no direct proof yet, but it very likely had fur and/or sensory whiskers. But it likely had no external ears, and laid eggs rather than giving live birth. Cynognathus reached a length of about 1.2 m with a relatively large skull. It lived in South Africa, South America and Antarctica, about 247-237 million years ago (the Triassic age).

Here you see it having caught a small archosaur. The tables would soon be turned: the archosaurs evolved into large predatory types, including the dinosaurs, and replaced the large proto-mammals. Cynognathus itself was one of the last reasonably-big cynodont predators - until much later with the advent of the 'age of the mammals' after the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Description

Cynognathus is one of the best-known proto-mammals. Its scientific name means 'dog-jaw'. It was really getting towards the mammalian condition: it had a secondary palate, and could thus breathe while chewing; it had diversified teeth - incisors, canines and post-canines - and likely could chew its food well. It appears to have had a diaphragm, which would have made for more efficient breathing and a more active lifestyle. Its forelegs sprawled a bit, but its hindlegs were positioned upright, so it could run fairly well. There's no direct proof yet, but it very likely had fur and/or sensory whiskers. But it likely had no external ears, and laid eggs rather than giving live birth. Cynognathus reached a length of about 1.2 m with a relatively large skull. It lived in South Africa, South America and Antarctica, about 247-237 million years ago (the Triassic age).

Here you see it having caught a small archosaur. The tables would soon be turned: the archosaurs evolved into large predatory types, including the dinosaurs, and replaced the large proto-mammals. Cynognathus itself was one of the last reasonably-big cynodont predators - until much later with the advent of the 'age of the mammals' after the extinction of the dinosaurs.