Lystrosaurus

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Lystrosaurus is one of the most interesting cases in the fossil record. It survived the Great Dying, then suddenly prospered across the entire planet having no predators for millions of years and making up 95% of the fossils in some fossil beds like the Lystrosaurus Assemblage Zone in South Africa. Then it and it suddenly stopped evolving and went extinct soon after in the Early Triassic. There have been many attempts to explain why it was so prosperous like: Lystrosaurs might have been able to enter a state of hibernation called torpor, judging by the growth marks on their tusks, perhaps sleeping through difficult times. Or that it’s wide chest and short nostrils allowed it to breathe better than competitors as the air at that time was very dense with carbon dioxide. My favorite hypothesis by Michael James Benton is, "Perhaps the survival of Lystrosaurus was simply a matter of luck." Lystrosaurus has 4 to 7 different species recognized depends on who you ask, each is relatively unspecialized, but has different facial features and ranges in size from 2 to 8 feet and around 100/200 pounds. Lystrosaurs can be recognized by their pair of saber teeth. They only had these two teeth and a beak for low-growth plants and plant roots. Lystrosaurus' arms and legs sprawled outwards, and it had powerful forelimbs, making it an efficient burrower.