As one of the earliest cynodonts, Procynosuchus has many primitive features, but it also has features that distinguish it from all other early therapsids. Some of these features have been interpreted as adaptations for a semi-aquatic lifestyle. For example, the wide zygapophyses of the vertebrae allow for a high degree of lateral flexibility, and Procynosuchus may have used anguilliform locomotion, or eel-like undulation, to swim through the water. The tail of Procynosuchus is also unusually long for a cynodont. The long haemal arches would have given the tail a large lateral surface area for greater propulsion through the water. Relatively flat foot bones may also have been an adaptation toward swimming, as the feet may have been used like paddles. Ridges on the femur are an indication of
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| - As one of the earliest cynodonts, Procynosuchus has many primitive features, but it also has features that distinguish it from all other early therapsids. Some of these features have been interpreted as adaptations for a semi-aquatic lifestyle. For example, the wide zygapophyses of the vertebrae allow for a high degree of lateral flexibility, and Procynosuchus may have used anguilliform locomotion, or eel-like undulation, to swim through the water. The tail of Procynosuchus is also unusually long for a cynodont. The long haemal arches would have given the tail a large lateral surface area for greater propulsion through the water. Relatively flat foot bones may also have been an adaptation toward swimming, as the feet may have been used like paddles. Ridges on the femur are an indication of
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| - As one of the earliest cynodonts, Procynosuchus has many primitive features, but it also has features that distinguish it from all other early therapsids. Some of these features have been interpreted as adaptations for a semi-aquatic lifestyle. For example, the wide zygapophyses of the vertebrae allow for a high degree of lateral flexibility, and Procynosuchus may have used anguilliform locomotion, or eel-like undulation, to swim through the water. The tail of Procynosuchus is also unusually long for a cynodont. The long haemal arches would have given the tail a large lateral surface area for greater propulsion through the water. Relatively flat foot bones may also have been an adaptation toward swimming, as the feet may have been used like paddles. Ridges on the femur are an indication of strong flexor muscles that could have stabilized the leg during limb-driven swimming. When the thigh is pulled back in the water, the lower leg tends to bend forward. Strong flexor muscles would have pulled the lower leg back with the femur, providing the powerful backward thrust that is needed to swim.
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![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)