The world of Lystrosaurus
A pig-sized tusked herbivore is so abundant after the extinction that it seems to be almost the only animal alive.
- When
- Known to
- ± 1 million years
- Era
- Triassic, Mesozoic
In Early Triassic rocks across Africa, Asia and Antarctica, the dicynodont Lystrosaurus can make up the overwhelming majority of tetrapod fossils. It is the textbook example of a disaster taxon — an opportunist inheriting an emptied world. A 2020 review argues the label does not withstand scrutiny, since Lystrosaurus was already diverse and widespread before the extinction and its apparent dominance may partly reflect where the rocks are.