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| Dimetrodon | |
| Meaning: | Two Measured Teeth |
| Creature type: | Synapsid reptile |
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Diet: |
Carnivore |
| Time Period: | Permian |
| Locality: | North America, Europe, Asia |
| Family: | Sphenacodontidae |
| Related species: | Sphenacodon |
Dimetrodon was a famous sail-backed reptile that is often confused to be dinosaur, even though it was more closely related to mammals and lived millions of years before the first dinosaur.
Dimetrodon was a mammal-like reptile (see Gorgonops), but one of the first. It was pelycosaur, the first type of mammal-like reptile known.
The most obvious feature on Dimetrodon is the sail on its back. The sail could have been used for display to rivals and females. It was also used to gain heat from the sun, therefore making energy within Dimetrodon. It was like a solar panel. Another pelycosaur (Edaphosaurus) also had a sail, but was only distantly related to Dimetrodon.