I recently created a map showing the distribution of Lystrosaurus in Lopingian and Early Triassic. Having completed the creation, I thought about where else these animals could live and where, in theory, they could be found in the future?
As can be seen from finds in the southern hemisphere, these animals lived around the subrolar region, where suitable vegetation probably grew and where the last relict lakes from the Karoo Ice Age probably remained (South Africa, India, East Antarctica). In the northern hemisphere, they also lived near the subpolar region (western Russia, northwestern China), where similar climatic conditions were probably observed, but due to the proximity of the ocean, especially between Siberia and Eastern Europe (on some maps, the authors show a sea strait between these regions, but this is unlikely, because there was already a land connection between Europe and China). So, taking into account the already known places of discoveries, I imagined the habitat zone of Lystrosaurus in Early Triassic (purple) and marked with "˅" places where they most likely lived and where we are likely to find their fossils in the future:
1) Southern part of South America (Chile, Argentina). ~250 Ma, it was located not far from South Africa and, most likely, the animals could get there by land.
2) East Africa (Tanzania, Kenya and other countries). Location located between South Africa and India. I believe the likelihood of finding a Lystrosaurus fossil there is very high.
3) Northern Europe (Norway, Sweden, Finland). This region was not separated by sea and mountains from Eastern Europe.
4) Finally, the territories located between Eastern Europe and China: western Siberia, southern Siberia and Mongolia.
However, you noticed that there are still no finds of Lystrosaurus skeletons from the equatorial part of Pangaea, right? There is no doubt that they lived there, and it is a matter of time before we find them there. I marked "?" suggested places where Lystrosaurus might have lived, but the certainty is not so high. Since scientists believe that El Niño in Panthalassa occurred at the Permian-Triassic boundary, the climate on the western coasts was likely drier than on the eastern. The same thing is observed today: the driest deserts are located in the west of Australia, South America and sub-equatorial Africa. For this reason, I believe that Lystrosaurus lived mainly in the east of Pangea, on the coast of Tethys. Here are the proposed locations:
1) Australia. It was located by south of Tethys and probably had similar conditions to India and Antarctica.
2) New Guinea. It was probably connected to Australia.
3) Eastern territories in central Pangaea: northeastern Africa, Arabia, southern Mediterranean, northern Africa, Spain and eastern North America.
4) Greenland. This region was located in northern latitudes, not far from modern Europe.
5) South China. There is a high probability that it was connected to Northern China.
What do you think about it? Can we really find Lystrosaurus there, or did they inhabit a smaller area?
