Dimetrodon is often mistakenly called a dinosaur. Do you know why it is not really a dinosaur? I have mentioned a few reasons in past articles. I mentioned in this article that Dimetrodon has a synapsid skull, with one fenestra. In my last article, I told you that the dinosaurs have a diapsid skull, one with two fenestrae. So, Dimetrodon could not be a dinosaur. Also, in my article "Dinosaur Primer" I discussed the hip structure of dinosaurs, and the fact that they had an upright stance, with their legs placed directly under their hips. Dimetrodon and the other synapsid reptiles had a sprawling gait; look at how Dimetrodon's elbows and knees stick out, he looks like he is doing push-ups! Dimetrodon also lived from the Carboniferous Period to the end of the Permian Period, becoming extinct during the mass Permain Extinction Event, while the dinosaurs are restricted to animals that lived during the Mesozoic Era (230 to 65 million years ago).
I have a pair of earrings that are shaped like Dimetrodon, and when people comment on my "dinosaur" earrings, that gives me the chance to say, "Actually, Dimetrodon was a mammal-like reptile that lived during the Permian Period, and not really a dinosaur." And now, you can say that, too.
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