Thrinaxodon
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| Thrinaxodon Fossil range: Early Triassic |
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 Restoration of Thrinaxodon
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Thrinaxodon was a cynodont, a cat-sized mammal-like "reptile". Many scientists suggest that the pits on the skull indicate that Thrinaxodon had whiskers and, therefore, probably had a covering of fur. There are suggestions that it was warm-blooded. Even so, it still had a reptilian skeleton and laid eggs.
It is thought that Thrinaxodon lived in shallow burrows dug into hillsides or riverbanks. It lived in mated pairs or small family groups, and was probably territorial, using scent glands to mark out boundaries and then defending that territory from intruders.
A low-slung, sharp-toothed carnivore, Thrinaxodon lived in burrows, and ate small creatures like insects, reptiles, etc. Clues to its remains show that this creature was more mammal-like than its synapsid ancestors. It had a fairly large head/skull with pits in the bone suggesting it had whiskers which of course also hint that its body was hairy. An enlarged dentary bone strengthened either side of the lower jaw and contained sockets for its teeth. Its chest and lower back regions were probably separated by a diaphragm - a muscular sheet that contracted to fill lungs, and would have enabled Thrinaxodon to breathe more efficiently than its ancestors. Its remains were found on South Africa and Antarctica, supporting the idea that the two continents were once joined together. This animal lived during the Triassic Period (248-245 million years ago).
There were many large predators during the Late Triassic, including some of the earliest carnivorous dinosaurs, such as Coelophysis. Thrinaxodon had few defenses against these, and its main survival strategy would have been to feed at night and to sense, then hide from approaching animals.
[edit] In popular culture
- In the television series Walking with Dinosaurs, a scaled-up version of Thrinaxodon was used for the reconstructed cynodonts seen in the first episode.
[edit] References
- Tim Haines and Paul Chambers. The Complete Guide to Prehistoric Life. Firefly Books Ltd., Canada. 69.
- David Lambert (2003). Dinosaur Encyclopedia. DK Publishing, New York. 202-203.
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