Trilogy of Life Season 1

by bennettfender

See the story of life before the dinosaurs like never before.

8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Conquering the Land

Earth 280 million years ago, it is now a time known as the Permian Period, the last period of the Paleozoic Era. The Permian world is arguably one of the most brutal in Earth's history, for much of the Earth's land is now part of 1 massive supercontinent, Pangea. Life on most of Pangea is brutal, for most of it is arid desert, not helping the brutal conditions are a multitude of mountain ranges that have been pushed up as the continents began to collide, these mountains keep moisture from reaching these deserts, causing the dry desolate conditions, it's a condition known as the rain shadow effect and it affects many modern deserts. As if this isn't bad enough, the world is also still in the grip of the Late Paleozoic Ice Age, and the glaciers are at their peak. The glaciers also contribute to a continual drop in sea level across the globe destroying many marine habitats.

Surrounding Pangea, is a massive ocean, the Panthalassic one of the largest continuous oceans in Earth's history, much of the world is covered in this behemoth. Meanwhile on a section of Pangea's eastern coast is the Paleo Tethys sea. Despite the somewhat harsh condition life has continued to survive in this changing world and the challenges have led many new creatures to evolve and become dominant. In the seas life has continued to truck along relatively unchanged since the Carboniferous. Goniatite ammonites reign supreme still and are now at their most abundant, trilobites meanwhile still struggle on, and the chondrichthyans have remained dominant and one order the eugeniodonts have rose to prominence.

Eugeniodonts first rose to power during the Late Carboniferous and since then they have increased dramatically in size and one has become particularly infamous in the Early Permian oceans, a creature known as Helicoprion. At up to 26 feet in length Helicoprion is an impressively sized predator, however, its most infamous feature is its buzz saw like lower jaw, it has developed this tool to help dispatch the goniatites that are common in these waters.

While life has remained relatively similar in the oceans since the Carboniferous, the same cannot be said for life on land. With the destruction of the Coal Forests in much of the world animals have been forced to rapidly adapt and the amniotes have been one of the most successful groups during this time. Amniotes first began to rise to dominance towards the tail end of the Carboniferous and they have been gradually increasing in size and diversity since then. Many types have adapted to live in the arid deserts, however, to see the most impressive of the amniotes, one must head closer to the coast, for around coastlines across Pangea are great swamps, these are not the coal swamps of the Carboniferous, however, instead these swamps harbor very different types of creatures and one of the largest and most diverse swamps can be found in what is now Texas.

...

The sun begins to rise across the Early Permian landscape, signaling the start of a new day. As the sun rises, one may notice a new type of plant that has evolved, conifers. Conifers first appeared in the Late Carboniferous, however, it wasn't until the planet began to grow dry and clear our older plants like the Lepidodendrons, that they could begin to grow in number. Conifers themselves are better adapted to drier climates, allowing them to spread more easily once the Coal Forest began to recede and now they can be found all across Pangea having replaced the Lepidodendrons in most environments, outside of a few pockets of Coal Swamp that hung on through the Rainforest Collapse. Outside of the conifer forests, one can find many open fern prairies and on these fern prairies, live some of the first large vertabrate land herbivores.

Loud bellows signal the arrival of grazing animals, for the first time in Earth's history large tetrapod herbivores walk the Earth. There are 2 types currently roaming the fern plains, one, is Edaphosaurus pogonias a large sail backed beast, the other is Diadectes sideropelicus. Both of these large herbivores are not actually closely related, instead they both independently evolved adaptations for herbivory. Edaphosaurus is certainly the most striking of the two, with its massive sail on its back made up of enlarged neural spines jutting out with a thin layer of skin covering them, these great sails are for display and males use them to attract mates during the breeding season. At first glance Edaphosaurus look like dinosaurs, however, believe it or not Edaphosaurus has no relation to dinosaurs, who won't even arrive on the scene for another 50 million years.

They are synapsids and in fact are closer to us than to any dinosaur. Edaphosaurus itself first evolved at the very end of the Carboniferous, as a part of a wave of synapsids that began to exploit the changing world and they have continued to thrive coming into the Permian. They have also mushroomed in size, while earlier Edaphosaurus species weren't much bigger than a white tail deer, Edaphosaurus pogonias are elk sized and can get up to 11 feet. Edaphosaurus jaws are filled with peg-like teeth, which are perfect for stripping vegetation and Edaphosaurus also have massive guts, a necessity for processing their food. Alongside the Edaphosaurus, are the short and compact Diadectes.

Diadectes are not related to Edaphosaurus, they aren't even synapsids, nor are they even amniotes. Instead Diadectes are reptilomorphs, who are closely related to true amniotes, despite not being amniotes themselves. Like Edaphosaurus Diadectes have peg-like teeth and massive guts, however, one thing they have that their contemporaries don't is an ability to ground down their food before consumption, a primitive form of chewing. Didectes itself first appeared around 10 million years earlier, however, it has relatives that lived back at the tail end of the Carboniferous and like Edaphosaurus they quickly exploited the new niches left open and became larger and more common. One other feature that both these animals share is their posture, unlike the sprawling lizard like posture of some of their contemporaries, both Diadectes and Edaphosaurus have a semi sprawled posture, with legs tucked closer to their hips, this allows them a greater degree of speed and agility compared to their contemporaries.

Edaphosaurus and Diadectes also spend a lot of time around each other in relative harmony, this is done through a preference for different types of plant, with Edaphosaurus browsing on higher plants, as they do this, they crop down the vegetation, allowing Diadectes to move in behind them and crop up the vegetation that is closer to the ground, many modern animals will adopt similar strategies for avoiding competition.

...

Around an hour later, the herd begins to finish their morning feeding and soon they begin to feel the warmth of the sun, while the Earth may be in an ice age, more tropical areas like this can still get quite hot. Soon the heat drives the herd to the river. The herd marches for a short distance kicking up dust as they do, soon they reach the river. As soon as they arrive the herd begins to descend upon the water. As they begin to drink, many animals begin to push and shove as they attempt to get in for a sip.

As the herbivores jostle with one another, they fail to notice something emerging from the tree line on the opposite bank. One of the Edaphosaurus notices the creature and lets out a warning call. Immediately the fighting stops, as they watch the animal walk down towards the water. At first glance the creature sort of looks like an Edaphosaurus especially since it sports its own sail, however, this animal is not an Edaphosaurus, nor is it an herbivore, meet Dimetrodon grandis at 11 feet long and 350 pounds it is a jaguar sized predator built for hunting large game. Dimetrodon is a synapsid, however, it is part of a different lineage than Edaphosaurus, a lineage known as the sphenacodonts.

Sphenacodonts are another lineage that came out of the Carboniferous Rainforest Collapse and they come in all shapes and sizes, however, Dimetrodon is easily the most recognizable with its large size and sail. Despite the herbivore's fear, this Dimetrodon is not hunting, for she has simply come down to the river to drink. She swiftly quenches her thirst and then she disappears back into the conifers like a ghost. Not long after she leaves, the herbivores calm themselves and resume drinking from the river.

...

Sometime later that day, we find the river bank once again empty, with the great herd having retreated to the shade of the conifers to deal with the heat of the late afternoon sun. The herd itself has left many footprints in the mud, the only signs that they were here earlier today. While the herbivores rest, under the water many different dramas are unfolding. The river itself has a diverse ecosystem and one that is separate from the land, many creatures call rivers like this one home. Fish are abundant here, with lungfish being a frequent sight, also present are chondrichthyans like Xenacanthus, a powerful predator.

While fish are common, they are not the rulers of these waters and this Xenacanthus is about to find that out the hard way. As it combs the river bottom for prey, a pair of jaws suddenly erupt from the sandy bottom and snap shut on the fish with tremendous force. The Xenacanthus itself is immediately crushed to death and it is then swallowed whole. Its attacker is a hungry Eryops, a type of temnospondyl and the apex predator of this river. Eryops itself is a powerful predator, its enormous flat head is 2 feet in length and filled with sharp teeth, perfect for dispatching its prey.

Temnospondyls and amphibians as a whole initially saw a decline in diversity with the Carboniferous Rainforest Collapse, however, they swiftly bounced back and have begun to dominate coastal swamps and other wetlands. Notably the fragmentation of their habitat has caused many temnospondyls to go off in different directions and as a result many different kinds have popped up, one can be found in what is now Brazil, a beast that would dwarf even Eryops, Prionosuchus, at up to 30 feet long is the largest amphibian of all time and if it were found in these waters nothing would be safe. Luckily for Eryops, the mighty Prionosuchus is restricted to a different part of Pangea.

...

Eryops is not the only amphibian to thrive in these waters, another more bizarre species is Diplocaulus magnicornis. Diplocaulus is another genus that got its start in the Carboniferous and since then has thrived. The most striking feature of Diplocaulus is its boomerang shaped skull. Diplocaulus itself mainly uses the skull for display, however, it can also be a weapon for males to use on one another whenever battling or territory. As the male swims through the river he suddenly comes across one such rival.

Immediately the resident male reacts with aggression and he begins to shake his head in agitation. His rival responds in kind and the pair begin to size one another up. The conflict begins to escalate, as they both begin to dig their heads into the riverbed and throw the sand around. Realizing that this is getting nowhere, the pair proceed to fight. The resident male strikes first and hits his rival in the shoulder.

His rival responds with a sharp blow to the resident male's neck region, causing the resident male to take a step back. The resident male, then proceeds to strike his rival across the face causing him to back up as well. The pair soon begin to land strikes on each other and yet neither one will yield. Mud and sediment begins to be kicked up as the pair struggle. Unfortunately for the resident male his older age is starting to get to him, he can't take the amount of damage that he used too.

Finally the resident male gives in and he falls back, leaving his rival as the victor. The older male then swims away, in the span of just a few minutes he has lost everything and in his injured state he may be vulnerable to predators. His rival meanwhile begins to scope out his new territory, a loss for one is a victory for another.

...

Meanwhile, back on the riverbank, we find another animal on patrol, a male Dimetrodon. Male Dimetrodon can be told apart from the females by their larger size and more brightly colored sails. The male Dimetrodon is here to find food. Despite being a terrestrial animal, Dimetrodon's diet actually consists of a large quantity of aquatic prey and this is especially true during the wet season. The Dimetrodon peers into the water, looking for anything that he could snatch up for a meal.

As he peers into the water, he takes notice of a Xenacanthus swimming by. The male Dimetrodon immediately gets into position preparing to strike, then with great speed he hops into the water creating a large splash as he does so. He then swiftly grabs the Xenacanthus by the tail and drags it out of the water and onto the bank. He then lets go of the tail as he lays on top of his prey and then delivers a fatal bite to the skull, killing the Xenacanthus instantly. Unlike Edaphosaurus which has a relatively small head, Dimetrodon's skull is quite large and robustly built, which when combined with powerful jaw muscles, gives it a fearsome bite.

Another adaptation for dispatching prey is its teeth, which unlike the peg-like teeth of Edaphosaurus, are sharp and blade-like, perfect for cutting into flesh. Dimetrodon's teeth have actually changed as time has gone on, earlier species were smaller and had simple sharp teeth, however, as time has gone on the teeth have gotten sharper as Dimetrodon have grown in size and now they have hit their peak with Dimetrodon grandis, which has developed small denticles in its teeth, many families of animal will convergently evolve such features including sharks and some types of dinosaurs. One final special feature of Dimetrodons teeth is how they are different sizes. Notably the front teeth are enlarged, similar to the canines of modern day mammals, behind these are teeth built for gripping the prey while the front teeth do the killing and in the back are cutting teeth for slicing off chunks of flesh for consumption, this is the reason for Dimetrodons name which means 2 types of teeth and it is also one reason for its great success, in the future other synapsids will build on these features and further refine them. The male Dimetrodon begins to show off his shearing teeth as he tears off chunks of flesh for consumption.

After a few minutes the male Dimetrodon finishes his meal, he then takes a few sips from the river, before heading to the shade of a conifer, he then lays down and begins his favorite activity, the late afternoon nap.

...

As the days go by, the animals of the region are preparing for one of the most important times of year, breeding season. All across the fern plains, loud calls echo throughout the region, these calls come from male Edaphosaurus. Edaphosaurus herds are made up of a single male, his harem of females and their young, the loud calls are to signal to rival males that this harem is his. After finishing his calling for the time being, the alpha male attempts to court his mates. He walks up to his mate and begins to let out low rumbling sounds, while simultaneously, showing off his colorful sail.

While he tries to court some of his females, he fails to notice a small male Edaphosaurus sneaking into his herd. While male Edaphosaurus normally compete directly with one another for mates, some males have a different strategy, rather than challenging the larger herd leader, they sneak into the herd and court females while the alpha isn't looking, the goal is to mate with as many females as possible before they are found out. The sneaky male begins to court one of the females and she seems receptive to his advances, however, the fun for the sneaky male won't last. The alpha suddenly takes notice and lets out a loud bellow as he charges at his rival. The sneaky male immediately turns tail and runs for his life, the alpha male in hot pursuit.

After a short chase the alpha male, turns and heads back to his harem satisfied in having run his rival off. He then heads back to courting his females.

...

The Edaphosaurus are not the only animals currently in their breeding season, for in the conifer forest we find the male Dimetrodon letting out short calls to attract a mate of his own. Male Dimetrodon have large territories and in these territories are many different females, these females have their own territories, ones that are usually much smaller than the male's territory and all of them within the males territory are potential mates. After some time, the male finally begins to hear replies to his calls. The male quickly heads in the direction of the calls and after a short search he comes to a clearing, where we find the female we saw before, waiting on him. The male quickly begins to rumble softly as the female responds in kind, it is highly likely that these two have mated before.

The male doesn't even have to make use of his large sail in the brief courtship, the female swiftly becomes receptive. The pair quickly prepare to mate, this is quite awkward for Dimetrodon thanks to their large sails, as a result the female must lie on her side to make it possible for the male to reach her reproductive organs. Mating itself is a swift endeavor, the pair will remain together for a few days and then the male will leave her to go court a different female within his territory.

...

About 1 month later, we find the Edaphosaurus preparing to lay their eggs. Live birth has yet to evolve in synapsids and as a result they must still lay eggs like their sauropsid contemporaries. The Edaphosaurus quickly form large nesting colonies, each female in the colony constructs their own personal nest. The nests themselves are constructed out of dirt and vegetation like ferns, these materials will help keep the embryos at a consistent temperature while they incubate. After constructing their nest, the Edaphosaurus proceed to lay their eggs, like the platypus and echidnas of today, the eggs are of a leathery texture.

After laying a small clutch the females stand guard, looking out for anything that might want to grab an egg and unfortunately for them, there are plenty of egg thieves around. One such thief, is watching the colony from the cover of some nearby ferns. Meet Seymouria bayorlensis, an interesting type of animal. Seymouria is a creature that lives an interesting lifestyle, like a reptile it spends its adult life on land, with more powerful limbs than a typical amphibian and skin that is resistant to the sun, however, they hatch out in the water spending the first part of their lives there, they also lack the scales of true reptiles, as a result Seymouria is something of a missing link like many creatures of the earlier Carboniferous period were. Seymouria itself feeds on a variety of things, however, eggs are definitely a personal favorite.

Unfortunately for the egg thief, with the vigilant Edaphosaurus standing guard, the odds of getting an egg are low, he will have to wait if he wants one.

...

Meanwhile in the conifer forest, we find the female Dimetrodon also constructing a nest of her own, unlike the social Edaphosaurus who nest in great colonies, Dimetrodon make nests by themselves. The female Dimetrodon quickly begins to dig out a spot for her eggs, her powerful claws are perfect for the task, as she heaves dirt aside. After this is done, she begins to lay a clutch of eggs. After she is finished, she begins to cover the eggs with vegetation and then once that is complete she lies down and begins to wait. She will have to wait for around a month for the eggs to hatch, luckily for the mother her metabolism, while faster than most animals of this time, is still a little lower than mammals, meaning she can take the stress the lack of food will put on her body.

...

Days continue to pass and the female Dimetrodon remains beside her nest, vigantly watching for any possible thieves. Watching intently from the trees is the Seymouria, he seems willing to try his luck at the Dimetrodon nest. He watches the female, attempting to find a lapse in her focus. After about 30 minutes the female Dimetrodon begins to lie down beside her nest and then starts to doze off. Seymouria begins to take notice, however, he is still cautious, for she could jolt out of her sleep at any moment.

After another 15 minutes, the Seymouria begins to move in, for it would seem that the female Dimetrodon is in a state of deep sleep now. He walks right up to the nest and he begins to dig, however, the sound of him digging causes the female Dimetrodon to stir. She immediately reacts aggressively, letting out an aggressive bellow, causing the Seymouria to immediately turn tail and run for the trees. He sprints as fast as he can, the female Dimetrodon in hot pursuit, he reaches the tree line and darts into a fallen log. The female Dimetrodon snarls and then turns around and heads right back to the nest, she can't worry about killing the Seymouria right now, for her brood's safety is more important.

She immediately inspects the nest, making sure none of the eggs were snagged and then she covers it once again. Then she goes back to guarding her brood intently.

...

The next day back at the Edaphosaurus nesting colony, we find the Seymouria, trying his luck once again. He watches the colony intently, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. The Edaphosaurus nests in the middle of the colony are off limits, as there is too much of a risk of being surrounded and trampled by multiple angry mothers, instead the Seymouria sticks to the edge of the colony. He notices a mother at the edge of the colony wandering off, likely to go collect more ferns for her nest, now is his chance. He rushes to the nest and begins to dig out an egg.

He then pulls the egg out and begins to tear it open for feeding. As he feeds he fails to notice the mother of the nest returning. An enraged bellow suddenly gets his attention, as he snaps his head up, to see the mother charging right for him. The Seymouria turns to run away, however he is suddenly grabbed by the tail. The mother Edaphosaurus bites down hard, even with her herbivorous diet, the bite does brutal damage.

The Edaphosaurus then begins to drag the Seymouria across the ground, before bashing his head into the dirt. It doesn't take long before the Seymouria is dead due to brutal head trauma and yet the Edaphosaurus mother continues to ragdoll his corpse, she even stomps on it at one point. Finally satisfied and feeling that the threat has been dealt with, the female Edaphosaurus heads back to her nest. She inspects the nest briefly and then covers it back up, then she heads back to watching it.

...

A few weeks pass and at the Edaphosaurus colony, there is movement in one of the nests. Beneath the left litter, squeaking can be heard as one of the Edaphosaurus eggs begins to hatch. The hatchling struggles to free itself, luckily it has a sharp point at the end of its snout known as an egg tooth. The egg tooth helps crack through the leathery outer layer of the shell, allowing the hatchling to free itself. The hatchling quickly emerges fully from the egg, squeaking.

Its mother quickly comes rushing in and she parts the vegetation, she then nuzzles her baby. Soon all across the colony more and more Edaphosaurus eggs begin to hatch and soon the colony is alive with activity. Some young unfortunately are not strong enough to make it out of the eggs, these eggs are in turn disposed of by the mothers, this is done to keep scavengers away from the nest. For the young that have hatched meanwhile, their struggle has just begun, they must now survive in a world where a variety of predators would be happy to eat them, most won't make it to adulthood even with their mothers watching over them.

...

The Edaphosaurus are not the only ones with eggs that are hatching, at the Dimetrodon nest, the mother sits now guarding a group of 12 young. Many of the eggs were snagged by predators and yet despite this many of the young have now hatched successfully. Like Edaphosaurus, Dimetrodon are vigilant mothers who watch over their young, this is a good thing for the baby Dimetrodon, having the most powerful predator in the region as your bodyguard has its perks after all. The mother Dimetrodon is currently still weak from guarding her brood, while her reserves have served her well, soon she must find food lest she become too weak to protect her young. She promptly rises to her feet and then ushers her young into some nearby ferns.

Luckily for the young their skin naturally camouflages well with the nearby brush. The color of young Dimetrodon is actually a little bit different than the adults, as they age it becomes darker and has less patterns. They also lack the distinctive sail of their mother, which will grow in ample time. After rounding up her young, the mother quickly scans the area watching for any potential threats. After deciding the coast is clear, the mother heads off to search for food, leaving the young by themselves.

While the mother heads off to look for food, the young lie motionless in the ferns, this will help to hide them from any potential predators. As the young hide, a potential threat begins to make itself known. Meet Platyhystrix, a type of temnospondyl. Unlike other Temnospondyls like Eryops, Platyhystrix is a terrestrial animal, its powerful legs and tough skin allow it to spend most of its time on land, only returning to water to lay their eggs as adults. The most distinctive feature of Platyhystrix, however, is its sail.

The sail is similar to the ones that Dimetrodon and Edaphosaurus have an interesting example of convergent evolution. Platyhystrix itself is a small animal, however, it is still an effective predator of many of the smaller creatures here and the young Dimetrodon are well within the size range of animals it likes to prey upon. Luckily for the young Dimetrodon, the Platyhystrix fails to notice them and it simply wanders by. A few minutes later, the young's mother arrives, with a Xenacanthus in tow. She quickly calls to her young, beckoning them to come.

She then begins to tear the carcass open, giving the young access to the nutritious flesh of the Xenacanthus. While the young feed on their share, the mother tears off chunks for herself, this is the first good sized meal that she has had in a month. After eating her fill, she heads to her spot under a conifer and she begins to lay down, after such a good meal, the sleep will be enjoyed by the mother. The young meanwhile play amongst themselves happily, this will help them tune their hunting and combat skills, necessities for a powerful apex predator. In a few weeks time their mother will lead them away from the nest and then they must face the open world.

...

As the weeks pass, everything begins to die down for the nesting animals. At the Edaphosaurus nesting grounds, mothers bring their young ferns to feed on. The young are already growing rapidly, within just a few years they will already be at their adult size. Soon the young begin to leave the nesting grounds with their parents, then they will be guarded by them for another year, after that year they can no longer rely on their mother for protection. From this point they will spread out within the herd, females can stay if they so choose too, however, many will choose to leave the herd and find other herds, this keeps the gene pool fresh and prevents in breeding.

Males meanwhile will be forced out by the dominant male, they must then find another herd of their own that they can take over. During the time in between they are nomads and at their most vulnerable to predators. Some never get the chance to get a herd of their own, they either die before they can or they are simply not strong enough to compete with the dominant male. Some of these smaller weaker males instead become sneaky males like the one we saw earlier.

...

While the Edaphosaurus gather food for their young, back in the conifer forest we find the Dimetrodon nest is now empty, it seems that the family has already moved on. After a short search, we find the family at a shallow pool about a mile away. The mother lays in the pool calmly resting, the water helps to keep her cool during the heat of the day. Nearby the young play happily, some even try to practice their hunting skills on small animals. One is messing with a small insect, a beetle.

Beetles are a type of insect that recently evolved during the earlier part of the Permian and they are already quite a common sight. The youngster hops on the beetle pinning it with its front paws. The hapless insect suddenly struggles free and catches the youngster off guard as it suddenly spreads its wings and takes to the air. The youngster looks absolutely puzzled, needless to say. Hunting skills will come in time for the young Dimetrodon, however, it takes a lot of trial and error initially.

Suddenly the mother Dimetrodon jumps up as she picks up a scent, a male Dimetrdon is headed their way. She immediately exits the pool as she calls for her young to come to her. The female watches nervously as the Dimetrodon emerges from the trees, however, her worry quickly subsides. The Dimetrodon in question is just the resident male. The resident male Dimetrodon's normally don't take part in raising the young, however, they are also not aggressive to them.

The male has simply come down to relax as well. The young needless to say, aren't exactly enthusiastic about his presence. The male lays down in the pool as he begins to rest. While the youngsters father may not mind their presence, if another unrelated male were to appear he would try to kill them. This would be done to get their mother to mate, for as long as she is rearing offspring she won't. After a few minutes the family parts ways with their father, leaving him to rest peacefully in the pool.

...

A few days pass and the Dimetrodon find themselves at one of the many creeks that dot the landscape. The mother begins to lap up the water, as do some of the young. Nearby some of the other ones take their time to explore the area. Their natural curiosity leads some of them away from the watchful eye of their mother. It is in these moments that the young are at their most vulnerable to predation.

Some of the less bold young meanwhile stay close to their mother. Even staying close to their mother, however, isn't a surefire way to avoid predation, especially at the water's edge. A squeal is suddenly heard as massive jaws clamp down on one of the baby Dimetrodon. The attacker is a hungry Eryops, before the mother can even react the giant amphibian vanishes beneath the waves. The attack itself comes as a surprise to the mother, however, such things are simply an inevitability, most Dimetrodons never make it to adulthood.

The mother quickly forgets about her now dead offspring, she rounds up the rest of her young and they head off. Little do the young know, it's only going to get tougher, in about 2 months the dry season will begin and life for every creature here will be pushed to the brink.

...

4 months later and it is now the middle of the dry season. All throughout the region, the water level has dropped dramatically. Even the largest river in the region has seen the water recede from the banks. Other water holes, meanwhile, have completely dried up already leaving many animals stranded. Some animals have systems in place to combat such drops in water levels.

...

Buried beneath the mud of this now dried up pool, is a group of young Diplocaulus. During times of extreme drought Dilpocaulus will do this to save themselves from the heat and they can remain like this for an impressive amount of time. Unfortunately for the hapless amphibians, their burrow is about to be discovered. Emerging from the tree line is the male Dimetrodon. He marches up to the dried up water hole and begins to dig.

After some digging, he unearths the hibernating amphibians. He quickly begins to take advantage of the spoils and he begins to feed on the helpless amphibians. After a few minutes, the male, having eaten his fill, heads off to look for water.

...

Out on the fern plains, the Edaphosaurus are looking for food. At this time of year many of the plants have gone dormant and they are not as nutritious as they are during the wet season. Despite this, the Edaphosaurus are still able to get by. Diadectes are also able to get by, feeding on tough vegetation. The herd spreads out across the fern prairie.

After some time, the heat gets to be too much for the herd and they retreat to the shade of some conifers. Conifers are tough enough to survive the extreme conditions, unlike earlier plants like Lepidodendrons and they provide a valuable escape from the heat for many of the animals living here. Soon much of the herd is lounging in the shade, even the more energetic young don't have the energy to play much in this heat.

...

A little bit further away, we find the Dimetrodon family struggling to deal with the drought. The mother has already lost a few more of her young, thanks to the drought. Even the ones that are still alive are struggling thanks to the brutal conditions. The mother has to do something soon, she has been struggling herself to find suitable prey in the dough, she needs to make a kill. As she peers over a hill, she spots a lone Diadectes, digging for water in a dried up creek bed.

Diadectes are a potential food source for Dimetrodon, however, they are not an easy meal by any means. Their large stout bodies and thick hides make them a tough animal to bring down even for a male Dimetrodon, but the mother must try. She beckons her young to go and hide, as she gets into position. The mother then begins to creep in closer to her prey. The Diadectes suddenly picks up her scent and bolts running for its life.

The mother bolts after the fleeing herbivore, Dimetrodon are quite speedy animals by the standards of this time, however, she can't keep the pace up for long especially with the extreme heat, so she must close the distance quickly. The Diadectes keeps running as fast as it can. The mother finally closes the distance and hops onto her prey's back, biting into it as she tries to hang on. The Diadectes drags her some distance, as she keeps hanging on. Finally the Diadectes shakes the mother off and then it continues running leaving the mother without a meal once again.

...

Back with the juveniles, we find them resting in the shade, but little do they know they are being watched. Thanks to the drought the vegetation that they would normally use for cover has mostly shriveled up, this means that the young are more exposed. Watching the young is a Platyhystrix, the hungry amphibian looks nervously for their mother and after seeing she is absent, begins to make a move. The amphibian runs in grabbing one of the young by the neck, the cough youngster squeals briefly as the teeth penetrate its neck causing blood to flow, then the screams stop. The Platyhystrix then runs off with its target, trying to leave before the mother returns.

The mother returns not long after, she then calls for her young, unaware of what has just happened. After gathering up her remaining young she heads off, not even acknowledging the loss of one of her young. If she doesn't find food soon she may very well eat her own young just to survive, however, this would be a last resort and yet with the way it is looking that option might soon be considered.

...

Weeks pass and the rains are still a few weeks away. At an old creek bed Edaphosaurus and Diadectes desperately dig for any scrape of water. The herbivores grunt as they dig. The drought has been particularly hard on the young, many simply don't make it. Scavengers like Seymoruia and Platyhystrix are quick to exploit this.

The scavengers hiss and growl at each other as they jostle for meat, a Platyhystrix and a Seymouria even engage in a tug of war over a piece of Diadectes flesh. After some searching, the herbivores begin to move on continuing their great quest for water.

...

Even in the drought, however, there are some spots with water above ground, take this watering hole. If the herd is lucky they may discover it, but for now many creatures rest happily. An Eryops patrols the waterway, the water shielding it from the blistering sun. Unfortunately for the Eryops, the water is shallow enough to where other predators are a potential danger. Watching from the shoreline, is the male Dimetrodon, he eyes the hapless amphibian, which currently seems oblivious to the danger.

The male suddenly leaps onto the Eryops from the bank, clamping down on its neck, as the giant amphibian thrashes around haplessly. He then drags his prey onto the bank and delivers a killing bite to the throat. The male then begins to tear into his prey, the male Dimetrodon has done quite well for himself through the drought all things considered, the water hole has provided an excellent spot from which to hunt prey. After eating his fill he heads to the water and begins to lie in it. In the heat of the dry season, the water feels especially nice.

...

A few hours pass and as the sun gets lower in the sky, the male Dimetrodon begins to patrol his territory. He has recently picked up the scent of a rival male and that is something that cannot be tolerated. For a male Dimetrodon territory is everything it gives him the best access to mates and food, if he loses it he'll be in rough shape. He lets out deep warning calls, attempting to drive off his rival. He hears a call in response, it's a challenge.

The male heads in the direction of the call. After a short search, the resident male finds his rival in a clearing. The rival hisses, as does the resident male in response. The pair circle each other, saliva dripping as they snarl and growl. The two seem evenly matched, meaning the fight is on.

They both charge in and rear up on their hind legs and then begin to wrestle with each other. The rival male goes for the throat, attempting to end the fight swiftly, however, the resident male pulls back in time and pushes into the rival knocking him off balance. The pair fall to the ground and the resident male grabs his rival by the neck, his teeth digging in, as the rival male tries to pull away. The rival male yanks his neck free, causing blood to flow profusely from the new wounds. The rival male then suddenly clamps down on the resident male's head, causing him to roar in pain, as he tries to pull his head free.

The resident male finally escapes the deadly jaws of the rival. The pair then stop to rest, eyes locked the whole time as they stare each other down growling. After a few second rest they go at each other again with renewed ferocity. They once again wrestle, attempting to over power each other. The resident male grabs the rival's front leg with his powerful jaws and he begins to tear into it.

The rival hisses, as the resident male pulls him to the ground. With his rival now on his side, the resident male renews his attack, as he moves in for a fight ending throat bite. The rival male attempts to push him away as the resident male looks for his throat. He finally makes space to get back to his feet with a strong push. He attempts to get back up, however, the resident male clamps down on his sail, causing his rival to scream in pain.

The rival male pulls free and then delivers a strong whip with his tail to the resident male, causing him to back off for a minute. The pair circle, they are both beginning to grow exhausted from the fight, however, a victor has not yet been decided. With a snarl the resident male grabs his rival's neck with his jaws, catching his tired rival off guard. The rival male yanks his neck free and finally bolts, he is simply too tired and injured to continue the brawl. Having gotten rid of his rival, the resident male heads to the water hole, he now has more scars from yet another brawl.

He lies down, these wounds will heal in time. The life of an apex predator is hard, while he may have won today, it is very possible the male will lose his territory during his next fight, as he ages and wracks up more injuries, it will only become more difficult. Like most male Dimetrodon, he will most likely die alone one day having lost everything, such is the life of an apex predator.

...

Meanwhile the rival male having fled from the resident male's territory finds a spot to rest. His injuries are nasty, but in time he should recover, like the resident male. The fight itself provides valuable experience for him, in time he may very well acquire his own territory and become a dominant male in his own right, but he must first defeat another male in combat and that is something he has yet to do. He lies down and prepares to rest.

...

A few days later, we find the Edaphosaurus and Diadectes herd on the move. After a short search they suddenly happen upon a windfall, a watering hole. The herd quickly begins to descend into chaos, as they all fight for the best spots to drink. Angry grunts and bellows fill the area as the herd fights among each other and someone has taken notice. Watching from the treeline, is the female Dimetrodon.

She eyes the herd hungrily looking for any sign of weakness. Nearby her young watch, their number has fallen further, now there are only 6 of them left, predators and the drought have taken their toll. Their mother must make this kill if they are to survive. The female spots an Edaphosaurus moving away from the group. The female Dimetrodon gets into position to strike.

She then bursts from the treeline, spooking the herd. Alarm calls fill the area, as the herd scatters out in all directions. The female Dimetrodon locks onto her target and charges full speed ahead towards it. The Edaphosaurus runs as the female Dimetrodon rapidly closes the gap. She then opens her jaws and clamps down on the neck of the Edaphosaurus.

The Edaphosaurus struggles as the female Dimetrodon's teeth sink into its throat. After a short struggle, the Edaphosaurus begins to lose consciousness, the female Dimetrodon has finally made a kill. She calls for her young, who quickly run towards her. They begin to tear into the carcass, this is the first large meal the mother has had in a while. The mother tears off chunks of flesh and greedily gulps them down, at last her hunger has been satiated.

After eating her fill, the mother heads to the shade of the conifers, as she lies down and begins to rest. Her young for once are content to do the same.

...

About a week later we find the Dimetrodon family resting near the water hole. Nearby the mixed herd of Edaphosaurus and Diadectes rest in the pool. The drought has been tough on all the animals and yet there is a sign of change in the air. In the sky above, storm clouds begin to blow in, it's a signal, the drought is over. Lightning lights up the now darkening sky, as thunder booms.

Then the rain falls and it falls down hard. Many of the animals seek shelter under the conifers, as rain falls down hard across the thirsty landscape. The storm last for a few hours and by the end of it, many inches of water has fallen. This is just the first of many storms. Over the coming weeks more and more rain will fall, filling the many dry creek and lake beds.

...

As the water flows freely once again, the animals are quick to take advantage. Edaphosaurus and Diadectes rest in lakes and rivers throughout the region. Their young meanwhile, play in the water taking advantage of their newfound strength. Watching from the trees, is the female Dimetrodon, she is content to relax as her young play around her. Her young will stay with her for some time, however, once they reach about 2 years of age, they will be forced to survive on their own.

From there they will grow in size, living nomadic lives, hidden from the much larger adults. Then once they reach their full size they will try to conquer territories of their own. For now, however, they will spend their time with their mother, as another time of plenty begins in the Kingdom of The Dimetrodon.

...

Dimetrodon would reign as the apex predator of the American Midwest for over 22 million years, Dimetrodon grandis wouldn't even be the largest species, with that honor going to the slightly later Dimetrodon angelensis which could get up to 15 feet in length and weigh up to 550 pounds, however, all dynasties must end someday. About 273 million years ago an extinction known as the Olsens Event would occur. This event would be caused by fluctuations in the Earth's climate and it would have massive repercussions for life. In the seas, goniatite ammonites would see a massive decline in diversity, while they would ultimately survive, they would be a fraction of their pre extinction diversity. With its main prey having declined in number, the once dominant Helicoprion would soon vanish into extinction.

On land meanwhile, basal synapsids like Edaphosaurus and Dimetrodon would struggle to cope as their environments were destroyed by fluctuations in sea level, soon these once dominant creatures would also vanish into extinction. Perhaps no family was as hard hit as the amphibians, however, while they would ultimately survive, they would be a fraction of their original diversity. In spite of this devastation, however, some creatures would survive and if there is one good thing about extinction it's that it breeds opportunity for the survivors. Soon many more derived synapsids, long oppressed by more basal relatives like Dimetrodon, would rise in size and prominence and soon they were destined to make this new world their own.

Trivia

The environment and fauna of this episode are based on the Red Beds of Texas and Oklahoma.

I tried to make both Edaphosaurus and Dimetrodon, behave more like mammals, for whatever reason "pelycosaurs" like them are usually depicted as behaving more like reptiles, admittedly this possibility can't totally be ruled out as they are quite basal members of the synapsid family tree, however, I decided to make them more mammal like to better show their family relations. For Dimetrodon in particular, I used tigers as reference.

I planned on using Dimetrodon angelensis instead of the Dimetrodon grandis and the episode would've been set slightly later to reflect this, ultimately I changed my mind and instead used Dimetrodon grandis, primarily so I could have a more diverse cast as many of the amphibians like Platyhystrix, seemed to have died out by the time of Dimetrodon angelensis.

Originally I had the female Dimetrodon kill the Seymouria, however, I decided to switch it up and instead had the Seymouria be killed by one of the Edaphosaurus.

Early on I considered having this episode focus partly on Helicoprion, with the other part focusing on the Red Beds Ecosystem, this was ultimately cut as I couldn't find a good way to justify Helicoprions inclusion, however, I still made sure to name drop it as it is far too cool of an animal not to at least mention.

The episode's title is a reference to the fact that the Permian is when vertebrates truly rose up to dominate the land.

I considered featuring Cacops, however, I ultimately cut it to avoid roster bloat especially since Platyhystrix is quite similar, but far more interesting.

The scene where the male Dimetrodon discovers the hibernating Diplocaulus, is based on an actual find of multiple Diplocaulus with bite marks from Dimetrodon.

Lastly, while I mainly took influence from mammals for the synapsids behavior in this episode, I used Komodo Dragons as a reference for the actual fighting style of the Dimetrodon.

That's it for this episode next time we will delve into the Mid Permian stay tuned.