“Es sorprendente que los lagartos, con su apariencia similar a la de los dinosaurios, hayan sobrevivido hasta hoy en día.”

Lystrosaurus fue un ejemplo clásico de terápsido dicinodonte (“dos dientes de perro”), es decir, uno de los “reptiles parecidos a mamíferos” de finales del Pérmico y principios del Triásico que precedieron a los dinosaurios.

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Vivieron junto a los arcosaurios (los verdaderos antepasados de los dinosaurios) y eventualmente evolucionaron hasta convertirse en los primeros mamíferos de la Era Mesozoica.

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Sin embargo, en lo que respecta a los terápsidos , Lystrosaurus estaba en el extremo de la escala mucho menos parecido a un mamífero:

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Es poco probable que este reptil poseyera pelaje o un metabolismo de sangre caliente, lo que lo contrasta marcadamente con contemporáneos cercanos como Cynognathus y Thrinaxodon.

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Lo más impresionante de Lystrosaurus es lo extendido que estaba. Los restos de este reptil del Triásico han sido desenterrados en India, Sudáfrica e incluso la Antártida.

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(Estos tres continentes alguna vez se fusionaron en el continente gigante de Pangea), y sus fósiles son tan numerosos que representan un enorme 95 por ciento de los huesos recuperados en algunos yacimientos de fósiles.

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Nada menos que una autoridad como el famoso biólogo evolutivo Richard Dawkins ha llamado a Lystrosaurus el ” Noé ” de la frontera Pérmico/Triásico.

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siendo una de las pocas criaturas que sobrevivió a este evento de extinción global poco conocido hace 250 millones de años que mató al 95 por ciento de los animales marinos y al 70 por ciento de los terrestres.

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¿Por qué Lystrosaurus tuvo tanto éxito cuando tantos otros géneros se extinguieron? Nadie lo sabe con certeza, pero hay algunas teorías.

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Quizás los pulmones inusualmente grandes del Lystrosaurus le permitieron hacer frente a la caída de los niveles de oxígeno en el límite Pérmico-Triásico; Quizás Lystrosaurus se salvó de alguna manera gracias a su presunto estilo de vida semiacuático.

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