Permian Animals & the End-Permian Extinction

04Paleozoic

They occupied seafloors for nearly 300 million years, and their compound eyes preserve secrets of early vision.

17Paleozoic

This many-segmented arthropod grew longer than a person in coal-swamp forests.

18Paleozoic

This sail-backed predator was closer to mammals than to dinosaurs.

19Paleozoic

A beaked, tusked survivor became extraordinarily common after Earth’s greatest mass extinction.

35Paleozoic

Its spiral tooth whorl worked like a permanent slicing blade inside the lower jaw.

38Paleozoic

Long saber canines armed one of the largest predators of the latest Permian.

39Paleozoic

A barrel-bodied herbivore carried bony armor beneath its skin.

84Paleozoic

A thick skull roof capped this heavy plant-eating mammal relative.

105Paleozoic

Crossbars projected from the spines of its tall sail above a broad plant-processing body.

127Paleozoic

Tongue-shaped leaves across the southern continents became important evidence that Gondwana was once united.

138Paleozoic

Paired bony bosses formed a rough crown on the skull of this large, probably plant-eating therapsid.

169Paleozoic

A tiny head joined a barrel-shaped giant body whose broad ribs enclosed a vast plant-fermenting digestive system.

184Paleozoic

The largest estimates reach a 71-centimeter wingspan, placing it among the biggest flying insects in Earth history.

185Paleozoic

Banded dark patterns remain on its fossil wings, returning color pattern to a Permian insect rather than a blank outline.

186Paleozoic

A wing resembling that of a crane fly was once treated as an early dipteran clue, but its true affinity remains disputed.

213Paleozoic

Its skull spread sideways into a boomerang, perhaps producing lift in current or making it hard to swallow.

214Paleozoic

A broad, heavily sculpted skull and strong limbs carried its massive body through shallow water and onto banks.

215Paleozoic

Its adult skeleton looked reptile-like, yet it belonged just outside the fully land-breeding amniotes.

216Paleozoic

A high bony sail towered above the squat body and may have served display, recognition or heat exchange.

217Paleozoic

A long, tooth-filled snout gave this giant amphibian a gharial-like aquatic profile.

218Paleozoic

A beak, short tusks and powerful forelimbs made this one of the most common burrowing herbivores of the Late Permian.

219Paleozoic

Long upper canines and a wide gape made it an early experiment in saber-toothed predation.

220Paleozoic

Nine pairs of broad, flattened ribs record an early stage in the evolution of the turtle shell.

259Paleozoic

An eel-like body, continuous fin and spine behind the head made it unlike any modern shark.