Roughly 299 million to 251 million years ago, Earth’s landmasses were fused into one giant supercontinent called Pangaea. There were no flowering plants, and dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus rex were still hundreds of millions of years in the future. That was the Permian period – the final chapter of the Paleozoic Era – a time of dramatic change and bizarre, fearsome creatures.
Among the top predators was Dimetrodon, about the size of a small car. With a tall sail on its back and sharp, knife-like teeth, it preyed on giant fish and early reptiles. Scientists believe the sail may have helped regulate body temperature or attract mates.
Even more formidable was Anteosaurus, a six-meter-long predator with the bulk of a hippo and the jaws of a crocodile. Its muscular frame, powerful limbs, and bone-crushing teeth made it the apex predator of its time. Despite its size and heavy head, fossil evidence suggests it could run faster than its prey, aided by balance structures in its inner ear.
But Anteosaurus wasn’t alone. Later came Inostrancevia, a saber-toothed gorgonopsian. It ambushed prey like dicynodonts, herbivores resembling hippos. If a tooth broke, another soon grew in – an advantage for any meat-eater.
Even the plant-eaters were strange. Moschops waddled like giant toads, munching on low-growing vegetation in dry valleys. The landscape was dotted with towering ferns and early conifers, long before grasses and flowers evolved.
The Permian ended in catastrophe. Massive volcanic eruptions in Siberia, known as the Siberian Traps, triggered global warming and oxygen loss in the oceans. Around 90% of all species vanished in what’s known as the Great Dying – Earth’s most severe extinction.
Lasting roughly 47 million years, the Permian forged some of the most unusual and fierce creatures our planet has ever seen. With its closing, new creatures, including the first true dinosaurs, slowly took over.