Artwork of the extinct Lystrosaurus ('shovel lizard'). This animal is not a dinosaur, but lived much earlier, during the Late Permian and Early Triassic periods, 255-250 million years ago. Species have been found in places as diverse as Antarctica, India, China, Mongolia and South Africa. Belonging to a group of animals called dicynodonts, Lystrosaurus had only two front tusk-like teeth, used for biting off tough vegetation. Depending on the species, the animal varied in length between 0.6 and 2.5 metres (2 to 8 ft). It survived the most devastating extinction in Earth history, the Permian.
