Eudibamus cursoris

Eudibamus cursoris was a small, fast-moving lizard that lived during the Permian period, roughly 290 million years ago. It is the earliest-known animal that walked on two legs (it was facultatively bipedal; it ran on two legs when it needed to).

Speed: David Berman (of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History) estimated that Eudibamus could run about 15 miles per hour (24 kph). This plant-eater likely used its speed to avoid its predators.

Anatomy: Eudibamus' hind legs were long, and its front legs were short and weak (the hind legs were 64% longer than the front legs and 34% longer than its trunk). It also had a long tail. Eudibamus was 10.3 inches (26.1 cm) long.

Fossils and Name: Fossils of this synapsid were found in a quarry near Gotha, Germany, in 1993. Eudibamus was named by Robert Reisz, et al. Eudibamus was not a dinosaur, but another, much earlier type of reptile. Dimetrodon was a contemporary of Eudibamus.

Classification: Class Reptilia (reptiles), order Eosuchia, suborder Bolosaurida, family Bolosauridae, Genus Eudibamus, species E. cursoris.

RELATED LINKS Animals of the Permian period, before the time of the dinosaurs.

Other fossils found in Europe.