How big was Petrolacosaurus?
Q: How big was Petrolacosaurus?
A: Petrolacosaurus was a small animal, only 40 centimetres (16 inches) long.
Q: What is Petrolacosaurus' diet?
A: Petrolacosaurus' diet was probably small insects.
Q: What is the age of the strata where Petrolacosaurus was found?
A: The strata where Petrolacosaurus was found in Kansas are of Pennsylvanian age, approximately 302 million years old.
Q: What is distinctive about Petrolacosaurus' teeth?
A: Petrolacosaurus had distinctive canine-like secondary-sized teeth, a trait found mainly in therapsids, and later in mammals.
Q: Where were Petrolacosaurus fossils found?
A: Petrolacosaurus fossils were found in Kansas, USA.
Q: Is Petrolacosaurus the ancestor of all modern forms?
A: Petrolacosaurus was too derived to be the ancestor of all modern forms.
Q: Why can't Petrolacosaurus be the ancestor of any synapsids?
A: Petrolacosaurus cannot have been the ancestor of any synapsids because it was already a diapsid, with two openings on each side of its skull to add attachment points for jaw muscles. Synapsids diverged from the common amniote tree before the diapsids did.
