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Cynodonts were one of the few lineages of synapsids ("protomammals") to survive through the Great Dying mass extinction into the Triassic. And while a major branch of cynodonts known as probainognathians would eventually go on to produce the ancestors of modern mammals, for much of the Triassic a separate branch called cynognathians were initially much more diverse and numerous.

Exaeretodon argentinus was a large traversodontid cynognathian, growing up to about 1.8m long (~6'), known from the Late Triassic (~234-227 million years ago) of what is now northwestern Argentina. It was a low-slung animal with short stocky limbs, sprawling at the front and semi-upright at the back, and had a large head with a fairly short narrow snout and wide flaring cheekbones accommodating massive jaw muscles.

Although it it had large fang-like canine teeth, further back in its jaws wide molar-like grinding teeth show it was a specialized herbivore – at least as an adult. Different skull proportions in juveniles suggest that young Exaeretodon may have actually started out life as omnivorous or carnivorous, with jaws better suited for crushing hard-shelled invertebrate prey.

One Exaeretodon specimen shows evidence of severe rib injuries that would have hindered its mobility and made it very difficult to forage for food or avoid predators. But in this case those injuries were healed, suggesting this species may have lived in social groups that helped to protect each other.

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References:

Chinsamy, Anusuya, and Fernando Abdala. "Palaeobiological implications of the bone microstructure of South American traversodontids (Therapsida: Cynodontia): Research Letters." South African Journal of Science 104.5 (2008): 225-230. https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC96794

Doneda, Ana Laura, Lívia Roese–Miron, and Leonardo Kerber. "Bony injuries in a Late Triassic forerunner of mammals from Brazil." The Science of Nature 112.3 (2025): 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-025-01984-2

Kerber, Leonardo, et al. "New insights into the postcranial anatomy of Exaeretodon riograndensis (Eucynodontia: Traversodontidae): phylogenetic implications, body mass, and lifestyle." Journal of Mammalian Evolution 32.1 (2025): 2. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10914-024-09741-4

Ruta, Marcello, et al. "The radiation of cynodonts and the ground plan of mammalian morphological diversity." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 280.1769 (2013): 20131865. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2013.1865

Wynd, Brenen, Fernando Abdala, and Sterling J. Nesbitt. "Ontogenetic growth in the crania of Exaeretodon argentinus (Synapsida: Cynodontia) captures a dietary shift." PeerJ 10 (2022): e14196. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14196

[aronerd]

that’s right, we’re getting rid of your "tough capable mom and loser submissive dad" and your "girlboss girlfriend that pegs her boyfriend" archetypes and we’re replacing it with something even more Woke: giving women actual personalities and a presence, completele with complex preferences, opinions, and a full emotional life.

[aronerd]

scraps. oil painting on linen

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[aronerd]

2015? that wasnt even that long ago. it was only... [doing the math] ohhh. ohhh..... oh dear...

[aronerd]

I have been studying chemistry for the last few days and this meme idea was haunting me. So I made it.🙂

[aronerd]

everyone STOP conflating dom = top and sub = bottom or I'll rend you asunder

[aronerd]

"that time of the month" "monthly visitor" "feminine hygiene products" GRRAH!!! SHUT UP SHUT UP!!! PERIOD!! MENSTRUATION!!!! TAMPONS!!! PADS!! MENOPAUSE!!!!!!!!!!!

[aronerd]

viewing queer identities as “this is the label that makes me happy and feels most accurate now” rather than “this is who I am, was, and always will be” will definitely take the pressure off, friends. changing your mind is proof that you have one.

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Tumblr is the reason why I have something I call the cashier test which is, if i told this to a random cashier at the grocery store, would they think you're crazy at best or at worst would they be warranted in leaping over the counter and beating the shit out of you. Karl Marx mpreg is crazy, but not beating the shit out of you crazy. The cashier will probably talk about you to their coworkers and it might even make their day. Telling someone they're complicit in their own oppression by working a minimum wage job at a grocery store makes them warranted in leaping over the counter to beat the shit out of you.

[aronerd]

steps into a big pot of bubbling oil and sits there like its a hot tub and i snile at you so nicely that you step in after me and youre immediately boiled til theres nothing left

[aronerd]

i keep getting fines for “excessive water consumption” it’s not my fault that the basement prison cells all need their own toilets and showers. and like the prisoners are not pulling their weight AT ALL. all they do is sleep and be scared of the rats all day instead of painting with the easels i provided so the fines are really putting a financial strain on the household. if i didn’t need them for their plasma i would have killed them all already because this is nottt as financially lucrative as i thought it would be

[aronerd]

i can handle one (1) Event™ per day. whether it be a phone call, an appointment, trip to the grocery store, play date with a friend, etc. only one, that's it. any more than that and i am Stressed

[aronerd]

*dies hundreds of years ago as the village fool* well that fucking sucked lol let’s try again *reincarnated as a tumblr user* FUUUUUUCK

[aronerd]

you gotta have freaks and gross weirdos in your life it’s imperative to understanding the truth of humanity

[aronerd]

boring take from real 21st century idiots: bdsm is bad because it's basically torture

interesting take from a fictional 14th century monk: torture is bad because it's basically sex