New fossil display - Wits’ 90th anniversary

Thrinaxodon was a genus of cynodont that lived during the Triassic Period (248-million to 245-million years ago), notable for being a transitional fossil.

Glossopteris is the generic name for the leaves of a group of seed ferns that dominated the floras of Gondwana during the Permian Period (between 290-million and 248-million years ago); remains of this plant make up the bulk of southern hemisphere coal deposits today.

Labidosaurus is an extinct genus of anapsid reptile from the Permian Period of North America.

One day, 195-million years ago, a mother dinosaur laid a clutch of six eggs. Inside the eggs, the tiny embryos grew to the point of hatching. One dinosaur chipped its way out of its egg, hatching into a harsh environment, which was growing drier with time. The tiny reptile was helpless, with no teeth, and depended on its parents to find it food, give it warmth and nurture it.

Erythrosuchus africanus was 4m to 5m long and built like a deep-bodied crocodile. Its tall, relatively lightly built narrow head consisted mainly of huge jaws, each armed with a row of vicious teeth, finally serrated like steak knives. It was undoubtedly the top predator of its time. It was an ambush predator that lay in wait for unsuspecting prey, rushing out to kill and devour with great slashing teeth.