Talk:Dimetrodon

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[edit] Comment away Image

Commented away Image:Dimetrodon2.jpg because it's not a Dimetrodon (GRr#*☇☹♏☭☠☢üXx!!), it's an Edaphosaur. Said: Rursus ☺ ★ 15:08, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Seems to be a representation of the so-called Naosaurus, a composite of Dimetrodon and Edaphosaurus. Is that a painting from Charles Knight? If so, it can stay in the pop culture section. ArthurWeasley 15:59, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
It's certainly a Naosaur! ;-) But still, to me it looks like an extraordinarily morose Edaphosaurus that newly have been at the dentist to get an extraordinarily big paying bill. Said: Rursus ☺ ★ 11:24, 3 June 2007 (UTC)
The image HERE, indicates that Naosaurus is one paleontologists chimera, a Dimetrodon head put upon the body of an Edaphosaur. Pop culture it is: like Styganthropus piltdowni. Said: Rursus ☺ ★ 11:51, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

I can see how it's not a Dimetrodon. Dimetrodon had straight neural spines, while Edaphosaurus had them curved. Giant Blue Anteater 21:49, 9 June 2007 (UTC)

Wrong. Edaphosaurs have spikes on their neural spines. The great new illustrations have the spines curved. Giant Blue Anteater 07:38, 16 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Dimetrodon: a SYNAPSID

I am tired of this. first, tanystropheus is part of wikiproject dinosaurs (it isnt even related) and mow dimetrodon is featured on wikiproject amphibians and reptiles, although it is niether. Please reasign it to wikiproject synapsids, if such a thing exists. T.Neo 15:21, 28 August 2007 (UTC)

There is simply no wikiproject synapsid but you are welcome to initiate it if you like. In the meantime, the article Dimetrodon is maintained by the wikiproject amphibians and reptiles team. Please note that wikiprojects do not function as categories, it is just saying which team claims responsability over an article. Tanystropheus is maintained by the Wikiproject dinosaur because this animal was one thought to be a dinosaur. ArthurWeasley 15:36, 28 August 2007 (UTC)
Also remember that traditionally synapsida is a subclass of reptilia... the whole reptile/synapsid split (actually synapsid/sauropsid) is pretty new and probably not widely known about outside vert paleo... not sure who started defining reptilia to exclude mammals anyway. Probably whoever defined Amniota as a clade ;)
Either way, the fact that it's called WP: Reptiles and amphibians pretty much implies it's meant to be a project for all non-mammalian, non-avian tetrapods, doesn't it? There is no monophyletic clade containing Amphibia (crown group) and Reptilia (sauropsids) in the cladistic sense. Dinoguy2 16:05, 28 August 2007 (UTC)

Synapsids are no longer considerd reptiles as they do not have scaly skin and do not excrete uric acid. I would be glad to initiate a wikiproject synapsids. T.Neo 12:31, 30 August 2007 (UTC)

Only one problem: how do I initiate a wikiproject synapsids? T.Neo 12:35, 30 August 2007 (UTC)

No... they're no longer considered reptiles because somebody re-defined Reptilia specifically to exclude them, so that Amniota would not refer to the same clade as Reptilia. I believe (don't have a cite handy) early synapsids did indeed have scales based on pelycosaur skin impressions. While modern synapsids don't excrete uric acid I don't know of evidence saying primitive members did not, and that was never used as part of any definition anyway. Dinoguy2 14:46, 30 August 2007 (UTC)

I still dont think synapsids are reptiles but the thought that pelycosaurs had scales is fascinating. but what about the later synapsids (therapsids) when did fur appear? and what was the skin covering for dicynodonts? T.Neo 13:36, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

I don't think any evidence of fur is known for anything earlier or more primitive than Castorocauda lutrasimilis actually... hopefully somebody will correct me if I'm wrong. As far as I know the skin covering of non-mamaliaform therapsids is totally unkown. And it's fine that you don't think synapsids are reptiles, just be aware that this is because of a human-made, arbitrary definition that there are alternatives to, and not anything "real" about the animals themselves. This is an easy mistake to make in the new cladistic system that doesn't take physical features into account when making classifications.Dinoguy2 17:48, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

I dont think synapsids are truly reptiles, but probably very similar. Scary that people can play around with classifications put animal where they might not belong. 196.208.83.113 10:57, 1 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Pronunciation

This is a topic that covers at least all extinct life forms known under scientific name: there is an IPA-help pronunciation, sometimes a phonetic spelling. The problem i see there, that those pronunciations are English, and i dont really get the clue, why in an English article the ENGLISH pronunciation would need to be explained; but rather the original Greek one would be in need (something like Dee-ME-tro-don). Help and suggestions welcome.--84.63.244.80 (talk) 05:20, 26 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Trivia

There seems to be something of an edit conflict over what should be included in the trivia section between SteveOC 86 and Puncharoo. Personally I tend to be leaning towards Puncharoo's side. Is there any real reason to remove his additions? Abyssal leviathin (talk) 00:35, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

The relevant guidelines are here: Wikipedia:Handling trivia. See especially the section on Connective Trivia.
Are these minor appearances of Dimetrodon important to the shows/games mentioned? A good test is to see if they're discussed in those articles. Checking a few, Strong Bad and World of Warcraft don't mention this animal at all. If it's not important enough an appearance to make it into the parent article, it's certainly not important enough for this one. Dino-Riders mentions Dimetrodon briefly and includes it in a list, but that may still not be important enough to the topic of Dimetrodon to include it here. Wikipedia is not a giant game of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon you know! ;) Dinoguy2 (talk) 21:12, 2 March 2008 (UTC)
Additionally, I think this statement from the article sums up my philosophy on trivia: "an ideal Wikipedia article would present its subject in a straightforward but well-organized way, and refer the reader to other articles or outside resources where more details can be found." What additional information about or relating to Dimetrodon can be found in articles like Zoo Tycoon 2: Extinct Animals, or Super Sentai? I'm not seeing any. The only 'interesting' information seems to be that these things mention Dimetrodon. That's trivia for it's own sake, and is useless. Somebody playing Zoo Tycoon may want to learn more about Demetrodon, but why would somebody reading about Dimetrodon want to learn about Zoo Tycoon? Dinoguy2 (talk) 21:41, 2 March 2008 (UTC)
I didn't intend to get into an edit confict, I was trying to follow the guidlines shown above. From my experiance on wiki it can be difficult to persuade certain people about the relevance of pop culture to science articles and many of the prehistoic creature articals get it a lot which can be frustrating at times. It's also difficult to judge wether people are aditing in good faith or just trying to vandalise. I really should have sent a message to his user page, it's difficult not to come off strong when writing short messages in the edit summery. Steveoc 86 (talk) 01:24, 3 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Intro sentence.

As of right now, the intro contains this:

"It was more closely related to mammals than to true reptiles (Sauropsida), like dinosaurs, lizards and birds."

What is that sentence trying to say? That dinosaurs, lizards and birds are types of true reptiles? That dinosaurs, lizards and birds are like dimetredon with regards to being more closely related to mammals than to true reptiles? Or that dinousaurs lizards and birds are rather the opposite of dimetroden in this regard, being more closely related to true reptiles than to mammals? --Atethnekos (talk) 04:55, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

I'll rephrase this--the first option is the intent. Dinoguy2 (talk) 01:15, 2 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] contested statement removed

  • The climate of Europe and North America in the Early Permian was probably arid to continental, so Dimetrodon was probably adaptable. {{Fact|date=December 2006}}

Please do not reinsert this information without a citation--BirgitteSB 15:43, 4 June 2008 (UTC)