Paleo Profiles: Trilobites

They might not look like much but the trilobites were perhaps one of the most successful groups of animals to ever inhabit the planet. Very few groups of animals managed to be found over such a long period of time, over such a wide area, and filling so many ecological niches – the only other

Paleo Profiles: Scutosaurus

During the Late Permian terrestrial life became big. There had been large terrestrial vertebrates before this, like the early Permian Dimetrodon, but it was the Late Permian when it became more common. One good example of this is Scutosaurus. Easily one of the largest terrestrial animals of its day Scutosaurus would be considered large if

Paleo Profiles: Lystrosaurus

Around 252 million years ago one of the worst mass extinction events happened in the planet’s history, where a series of violent volcanic eruptions which wiped out 81% of all marine life and 70% of all terrestrial life. However, there was a plucky survivor who managed to not only survive, but flourish in the aftermath.

Paleo Profiles: Dimetrodon

One of the most famous terrestrial animals to live during the Paleozoic was Dimetrodon, and largely because it is often mistaken for a dinosaur. Dimetrodon actually went extinct forty million years before the evolution of the oldest known dinosaur, and is also older than crocodiles! Dimetrodon is also more closely related to us than it

Paleo Profiles: Phacops and Phacopidae Trilobites

Trilobites were one of nature’s greatest success stories being found across the entire planet for almost a staggering 300 million years. One of the most recognisable trilobites is the Phacops, and when I was researching for this post I saw that this was just the tip of the iceberg. As a result, I wanted to

Paleo Profiles: Arthropleura

If you took a walk in Scotland 300 million years ago you would be in for quite a surprise. Instead of the lochs and glens you would see tropical rainforests, thick swamps, and strange scaly trees. If you were lucky, you would find the largest terrestrial animal in the local area, but this wasn’t a

Paleo Profiles: Estemmenosuchus

The Permian period saw a wide range of unique animals called therapsids – these animals were the link between modern mammals and reptiles. One of these therapsids was the Estemmenosuchus, a large hippo-like animal that once lived in the floodplains of Russia. With a fearsome appearance, with large horns on its head, the Estemmenosuchus was

Paleo Profiles: Westlothiana

Over 300 million years ago Scotland was very different from today. The peat lands, rolling hills, dark forests, roaring seas, sleet in the winter, and bright summers were non-existent. Instead, tropical swamps and forests stood where limestone quarries and roaming hills now stand. It was in these forests and swamps of Scotland that one of

Paleo Profiles: Xenacanthus

It’s Shark Week 2020, and, once again, we’re looking at an extinct shark: Xenacanthus. On Paleo Profiles this is the third shark which we’ve looked at, and that’s because sharks are incredibly diverse. Today they range from the giant filter-feeding whale shark, to the tiny, deep-sea cookie-cutter shark, to the apex great white. When we

Paleo Profiles: Moschops

Moschops is somewhat unique that it is an animal which lived before the dinosaurs which is somewhat known by the general public, the other being Dimetrodon which is often erroneously called a dinosaur. Appearing in a 1980s children’s show called Moschops and appearing in the video game Ark: Survival Evolved, it has made a subtle