#ianthasaurus

[raptor-dash]

Cartoony Ianthasaurus based on the Denver Museum of Nature & Science model. His name is Malcolm and he's mad you woke him up while he was splooted.

[mablox]

I is for... #ianthasaurus #carboniferous #carboniferousperiod #pelycosaur #pelycosauria #fossils #palaeontology #naturalhistory #naturalhistorymuseum #extinctanimals https://www.instagram.com/p/BrlRBgqBw0b/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1s1jhv7wlyk69

[jasonmartian]

Ianthasaurus liked to sail. #BadDinosaurJokes Was out of town AND dropped my phone in a swimming pool this weekend... here’s yesterday’s #Daily Doodle.

[alphynix]

Weird Backs Month #03 -- Ianthasaurus

The synapsids diversified rapidly following their first appearance in the geologic record, and two particular families developed large showy sailbacks completely independently of each other: the edaphosaurs and the sphenacodonts.

Ianthasaurus here was a basal edaphosaur, known from the the Late Carboniferous of Kansas, USA (~302 mya). It was smaller than many of its more famous relatives, only about 75cm long (2′5″), and seems to have been an insect-hunting predator.

Its sail featured “cross bars” sticking out from the main spines on the front two-thirds or so of its body. The purpose of these extra ornaments is unclear -- but they must have been useful for something because later edaphosaurs sported them much more extensively.