Dimetrodon

"Running into a Dimetrodon in Jurassic Park would have been an interesting experience - and a dangerous one!"

- Kenner collector card

Dimetrodon was a mammal-like reptile (Therapsid Synapsid). It lived between 280-265 million years ago during the Permian period. Specimens are found in North America and Europe. The most distinctive characteristic of Dimetrodon was the large sail on its back. Fifteen species are documented, the largest species could become 4 meters long and have a weight of 300 kg, while the smallest was 90 cm long and had a weight of 14 kg. Dimetrodon is the most famous non-mesozoic reptile, and is often erroneously seen as a dinosaur or as living alongside dinosaurs, when it is actually more closely related to mammals.

This information stood on the collector card from the Kenner toyline:

'Scientists once speculated that Dimetrodon's unique dorsal structure was used as a sail to help the animal swim. Now, however, the more widely accepted explanation is that the spines were involved in regulating body temperature, as blood flowing through the sail could be warmed or cooled more quickly than in the rest of the body.'

Jurassic Park Franchise
Dimetrodon doesn't appear in the novels nor the movies. But because the creature is so well-known it appears in Jurassic Park inspired games and toy lines (alongside with many other non-dinosaurian creatures).

Jurassic Park Institute Information:


Dimetrodon is commonly mistaken for a dinosaur, but it was in fact NOT a dinosaur at all. It was one of a number of animals known as Mammal-Like Reptiles that dominated the late Permian period. It was a large meat-eater that lived primarily in swampy areas and had a very interesting feature - a large sail on its back. Dimetrodon disappeared at the beginning of the Triassic Period.

Unlike other pelycosaurs that did not have fins, Dimetrodon was able to warm up in the morning and cool off more efficiently during the heat of the day due to its sail. This method of controlling its body temperature, along with its large and powerful jaws, gave this predator a distinct advantage over the other large carnivores, making it the dominant land predator. In fact, its ability to warm up faster would have enabled it to catch and eat the slower, non-finned Mammal-Like Reptiles.

Dimetrodon is easily distinguished from dinosaurs as its legs were positioned on the side of its body while dinosaurs had their legs under their bodies. Even with this body structure, it was probably a very fast runner. It had a large head with very strong jaws and two types of teeth -sharp fang-like teeth for ripping and tearing in the front and smaller cheek teeth in the back that were designed for shredding the meat.

Comic books
Dimetrodon appears on the alternative cover of Jurassic Park: Redemption III. A green Dimetrodon is sitting on a white car in a car lot. This event never happens in the comic series.

Dimetrodon appears in Jurassic Park: Redemption II, it is only seen in two images. Dimetrodon is one of the many new species of prehistoric animals that is intended to be in the new Jurassic Park that Tim Murphy and the “unknown” investor created.

Even though Dimetrodon is a carnivore, it’s seen eating the hay that is in its pen. This is one of the many scientific inaccuracies in Jurassic Park: Redemption. This suggests that it may instead be an , an herbivorous relative of Dimetrodon or some herbivorous pelycosaur although it more closely resembles Dimetrodon.

Jurassic Park inspired games
Dimetrodon is an enemy in the Jurassic Park (NES game).

Dimetrodon is briefly mentioned in the intro of the Human Hunter of The Lost World: Jurassic Park: ''Be on careful lookout for Baryonyx, Barasuchus, and Dimetrodon. Later it is shown in the intro of the Velociraptor level, Dimetrodon is said to be a prey of Velociraptor.

They were originally going to appear "physically" in the InGen Complex of the Human Hunter level. However, they were replaced by the Deinonychus according to the Raptor Gallery.

Dimetrodon is also appeared in the T. rex intro.

Dimetrodon is a Carnivore that can be created from DNA in Jurassic Park III: Park Builder.

see Dimetrodon/JW: TG

Dimetrodon is a playable character in Jurassic World: The Game.

Jurassic Park Toys
A 15 centimetres long, the Dimetrodon action figure appeared in the Kenner's Jurassic Park Series 1. Together with a JP-Card, this Dimetrodon looks very good both in details and sculpture, though the legs are, however a bit short. The same figure was repainted for Jurassic Park: Dinosaurs. Its paint job is green with grey markings and yellow spots on its sail. This paint job is excellent for hunting in dense forests, with the green to blend in with the vegetation and the grey markings to simulate shadows, while the yellow spots could pass for patches of sunlight shining through the trees. This paint job suggests that tropical forest or a swamp was the creature's intended habitat.

A collector card came with this figure. Its picture shows alan Grant and Ellie who encounter a Dimetrodon in the jungles of Isla Nublar. The text on the back says: Running into a dimetrodon in Jurassic Park would have been an interesting experience - and a dangerous one!

A Dimetrodon figurine appears in the Die-Cast: Jurassic Park toy line. The figure came with a collector card. It shows Alan Grant, Ellie and Lex struggling with a Dimetrodon.

A repaint of the Series 1 Dimetrodon appears in the Jurassic Park: Dinosaurs toy line.

The same Dimetrodon figure also appears in the Jurassic Park: Dinosaurs Hybrids toy line. This version has a very swamp like paint job suggesting that it hunts in swamps. A cyan version of the Dimetrodon appears in the Jurassic Park: Dinosaurs 2 toy line. It comes with an action figure of a diver, indicating that Dimetrodon is meant to be an aquatic creature much like the Spinosaurus in JPIII. This is semi-plausible, since Dimetrodon is thought to have lived in vast wetlands.

Links

 * Dimetrodon action figure at JPToys