Name:
Metoposaurus (Greek for "front lizard"); pronounced meh-TOE-poe-SORE-us
Habitat:
Swamps of North America and western Europe
Historical Period:
Late Triassic (220 million years ago)
Size and Weight:
About 10 feet long and 500 pounds
Diet:
Fish
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Broad, flat skull; splayed legs; long tail
About Metoposaurus:
During long stretches of the Carboniferous and Permian periods, amphibians were the dominant land animals on earth, but some genera continued to flourish well into the age of dinosaurs. A good example is Metoposaurus, a crocodile-like predator with a bizarrely oversized, flat head and a long, fishlike tail. Considering its weak limbs, Metoposaurus wouldn't have posed much of a threat to the earliest dinosaurs, feasting instead on fish in the shallow swamps of North America and western Europe (and probably other parts of the world as well).
