Why Are They Called Mesosaurus?

Mesosaurus means “middle lizard,” and these creatures were ancient lizards that looked a bit like small crocodiles, with narrow heads and long tails. They had webbed feet and grew to about 1 meter (3.3 feet) long.

How did Mesosaurus go extinct?

Mesosaurus lived during the early Permian Period, from 299 to around 260 million years ago. They died out before the massive, end-Permian extinction that killed off a large percentage of marine and terrestrial animals. During the Permian, all of the earth's land mass was combined into the supercontinent called Pangaea.

Was the Mesosaurus real?

Mesosaurus, (genus Mesosaurus), early aquatic relative of reptiles, found as fossils from the Early Permian Period (299 million to 271 million years ago) in South Africa and South America. Mesosaurus lived in freshwater lakes and ponds.