September 24, 2013

Teenage Mutant Ninja Temnospondyls

You all enjoyed the many Platyhystrix images featured here the other day (interesting discussion still going on in the comments section on that article, check it out).

By Darren Naish

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This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American

You all enjoyed the many Platyhystrix images featured here the other day (interesting discussion still going on in the comments section on that article, check it out). Henrik Petersson, in particular, did us all proud with a TMNT-themed temnospondyl, perhaps the world's first ever (and I used to play TMNT the RPG, so I've seen more than my fair share of TMNT in-universe mutant animals). One thing led to another, and Henrik couldn't help himself but go all the way with this experiment. World, I give you...

Joining Raphael the Platyhystrix, we have Michelangelo the Prionosuchus and Donatello the Siderops. Leading the lean green fighting team is Leonardo, who, of course, is a Capetus. In world where the second 'T' in TMNT stands for temnospondyl, new questions are raised. Who is the TMNT mentor (surely he can't be a rat?), who is the primary villain of the TMNTemno world, and does April wear an orange jumpsuit instead of a yellow one? Can't talk, running to t-shirt manufacturer...

The world thanks you, Henrik, for this amazing gift. For previous Tet Zoo articles on temnospondyls (covering such taxa as Capetus, the dissorophoid Platyhystrix, and the archegosauroid Prionosuchus), see...

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