Skin? Moisturized. Teeth? Tusk-like. Today’s mood? Mastodonsaurus giganteus. This animal lived during the Late Triassic about 215 million years ago. It’s an extinct relative of frogs and salamanders, but it probably behaved more like a crocodile: Its large, flat skull and tusk-like teeth (some of which protruded through the skull) seem to be adapted for seizing large prey. You can see this life-sized model in the Museum’s Hall of Vertebrate Origins! Plan your visit.














