Estemmenosuchus

Name:

Estemmenosuchus (Greek for "crowned crocodile"); pronounced ess-teh-MEN-oh-SOO-kuss

Habitat:

Woodlands of eastern Europe

Historical Period:

Late Permian (255 million years ago)

Size and Weight:

About 13 feet long and 500 pounds

Diet:

Probably omnivorous

Distinguishing Characteristics:

Large size; sprawling legs; blunt horns on skull

About Estemmenosuchus:

Despite its name, which means "crowned crocodile," Estemmenosuchus was actually a therapsid, the family of reptiles ancestral to the earliest mammals. With its large skull, sprawled, stumpy legs and squat, cow-like body, Estemmenosuchus wouldn't have been the speediest land animal of its time and place, but fortunately super-agile predators had yet to evolve in the late Permian period. As with other large therapsids, experts aren't quite sure what Estemmnosuchus ate; the safest bet is that it was an opportunistic omnivore