Permian animals: here's who populated the Earth before the dinosaurs
The gigantic animals that lived on our planet before the Great Extinction.
The Permian was a geological era between 299 and 251 million years ago. During this period, the Earth has undergone enormous geological and climatic changes, as well as the evolution of numerous animal species. One of the best-known animal groups of the Permian were therapsids, primitive lizard-like mammals that dominated the terrestrial fauna. Among the most famous synapsids was Dimetrodon, an armored saber-toothed predator about 3 meters long.
Other Permian animals were reptiles, some of which gave rise to dinosaurs in a later era. One such animal is Gorgonops, a therapsid and blade-toothed predator about 1.5 meters long.
There were, in addition, numerous amphibians, including labyrinthodonts, which later evolved into reptiles. Permian labyrinthodonts were large salamander-like animals that lived in water and on land. One of these animals was the Mastodonsauroids, a clade of carnivorous amphibians about 2 meters long.
Finally, there were also insects and other arthropods, such as trilobites.
Among the most common Permian plants were lycopods, including Lepidodendron, an ancient plant that reached 30 meters in height, and Sigillaria, another plant that could reach heights of up to 35 meters.
These trees had deep, strong roots, which were able to penetrate the soil and draw water and nutrients from underground deposits. Furthermore, the first conifers also appeared in the Permian period, such as the Araucaria and the Cycas, which still represent an important part of the earth's flora today. These plants had needle-like leaves and produced seeds protected by a hard shell.
But the existence of animals and flora was overwhelmed by the Great Dying, or Permian Triassic Extinction.
Also known as the Great Extinction, the event was the largest mass extinction ever to occur on Earth. It occurred 250 million years ago, at the end of the Permian period, and led to the disappearance of 96% of marine species and 70% of terrestrial species. The Permian extinction was caused by a combination of factors, including climate change, volcanic activity, asteroid impacts and reduction of oxygen in the seas. Volcanic eruptions in particular have emitted enormous amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, causing global temperatures to rise and acidifying the oceans. The Permian extinction led to a radical change in the terrestrial and marine ecosystem, favoring the subsequent evolution of new life forms including dinosaurs. However, there are still many unanswered questions about the exact causes of this natural disaster.
