An anapsid is an amniote whose skull lacks one or more skull openings near the temples. Traditionally, the Anapsida are considered the most primitive subclass of amniotes, the ancestral stock from which Synapsida and Diapsida evolved, making anapsids paraphyletic. It is, however, doubtful that all anapsids lack temporal fenestra as a primitive trait, and that all the groups traditionally seen as anapsids truly lacked fenestra.
Milleretta is an extinct genus of millerettid parareptile from the Late Permian of South Africa. Fossils have been found in the Balfour Formation. Milleretta was a moderately sized, lizard-like animal, about 60 centimetres (24 in) in length. It was probably insectivorous. Its only known species is Milleretta rubidgei, making Milleretta a monospecific genus.
Parareptilia ("near-reptiles") is an extinct subclass or clade of basal sauropsids/reptiles, typically considered the sister taxon to Eureptilia. Parareptiles first arose near the end of the Carboniferous period and achieved their highest diversity during the Permian period. Several ecological innovations were first accomplished by parareptiles among reptiles. These include the first reptiles to return to marine ecosystems (mesosaurs), the first bipedal reptiles, the first reptiles with advanced hearing systems, and the first large herbivorous reptiles. The only parareptiles to survive into the Triassic period were the procolophonoids, a group of small generalists, omnivores, and herbivores. The largest family of procolophonoids, the procolophonids, rediversified in the Triassic, but subsequently declined and became extinct by the end of the period.
Hovasaurus is an extinct genus of basal diapsid reptile. It lived in what is now Madagascar during the Late Permian and Early Triassic, being a survivor of the Permian–Triassic extinction event and the paleontologically youngest member of the Tangasauridae. Fossils have been found in the Permian Lower and Triassic Middle Sakamena Formations of the Sakamena Group, where it is amongst the commonest fossils. Its morphology suggests an aquatic ecology.
Procolophonidae is an extinct family of small, lizard-like parareptiles known from the Late Permian to Late Triassic that were distributed across Pangaea, having been reported from Europe, North America, China, South Africa, South America, Antarctica and Australia. The most primitive procolophonids were likely insectivorous or omnivorous, more derived members of the clade developed bicusped molars, and were likely herbivorous feeding on high fiber vegetation or durophagous omnivores. Many members of the group are noted for spines projecting from the quadratojugal bone of the skull, which likely served a defensive purpose as well as possibly also for display. At least some taxa were likely fossorial burrowers. While diverse during the Early and Middle Triassic, they had very low diversity during the Late Triassic, and were extinct by the beginning of the Jurassic.
Procolophon is a genus of lizard-like procolophonid parareptiles that first appeared in the Early Triassic (Induan) of South Africa, Brazil, and Antarctica. It persisted through the Permian–Triassic extinction event, but went extinct in the beginning of the Early Middle Triassic. The type species is P. trigoniceps.
Acleistorhinidae is an extinct family of Late Carboniferous and Early Permian-aged parareptiles. It is defined as a node based clade including the last common ancestor of Acleistorhinus pteroticus and Colobomycter pholeter and all its descendants. Acleistorhinids are most diverse from the Richards Spur locality of the Early Permian of Oklahoma. Richards Spur acleistorhinids include Acleistorhinus, Colobomycter, and possibly Delorhynchus and Feeserpeton. Other taxa include Carbonodraco from the Late Carboniferous of Ohio and Karutia from the Early Permian of Brazil. Acleistorhinidae is commonly considered a subgroup of lanthanosuchoids, related to taxa such as Chalcosaurus, Lanthaniscus and Lanthanosuchus. However, a re-examination of parareptile phylogeny conducted by Cisneros et al. (2021) argued that lanthanosuchids were not closely related to acleistorhinids. The phylogenetic analysis conducted by these authors recovered acleistorhinids as the sister group of the clade Procolophonia, while lanthanosuchids were recovered within the procolophonian subgroup Pareiasauromorpha.
Acleistorhinus (ah-kles-toe-RYE-nuss) is an extinct genus of parareptile known from the Early Permian of Oklahoma. It is notable for being the earliest known anapsid reptile yet discovered. The morphology of the lower temporal fenestra of the skull of Acleistorhinus bears a superficial resemblance to that seen in early synapsids, a result of convergent evolution. Only a single species, A. pteroticus, is known, and it is classified in the Family Acleistorhinidae, along with Colobomycter.
Owenetta is an extinct genus of owenettid procolophonian parareptile. Fossils have been found from the Beaufort Group in the Karoo Basin of South Africa. Although most procolophonians lived during the Triassic, Owenetta existed during the Wuchiapingian and Changhsingian stages of the Late Permian as well as the early Induan stage of the Early Triassic. It is the type genus of the family Owenettidae, and can be distinguished from other related taxa in that the posterior portion of the supratemporal bears a lateral notch and that the pineal foramen is surrounded by a depressed parietal surface on the skull table.
Procolophonoidea is an extinct superfamily of procolophonian parareptiles. Members were characteristically small, stocky, and lizard-like in appearance. Fossils have been found worldwide from many continents including Antarctica. The first members appeared during the Late Permian in the Karoo Basin of South Africa.
Microleter is an extinct genus of basal procolophonomorph parareptiles which lived in Oklahoma during the Early Permian period. The type and only known species is Microleter mckinzieorum. Microleter is one of several parareptile taxa described from the Richards Spur fissure fills, and can be characterized from its high tooth count, lacrimal/narial contact, short postfrontal, and slit-like temporal emargination edged by the postorbital, jugal, squamosal, and quadratojugal. Contrary to Australothyris, which had a similar phylogenetic position as a basal procolophonomorph, Microleter suggests that early parareptile evolution occurred in Laurasia and that multiple lineages developed openings or emarginations in the temporal region.
Sauropareion is an extinct genus of basal procolophonid parareptile from earliest Triassic deposits of Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. It is known from the holotype SAM PK-11192, skull and partial postcranium. It was collected by the late L. D. Boonstra in 1935 from Barendskraal in the Middelburg District and referred to the Lystrosaurus Assemblage Zone of the Beaufort Group. It was first named by Sean P. Modesto, Hans-Dieter Sues and Ross J. Damiani in 2001 and the type species is Sauropareion anoplus. The generic name means "lizard", sauros, and "cheek", pareion from Greek in reference to the lizard-like appearance of the temporal region. The specific name comes from the Greek word anoplos, meaning "without arms or armour".
Coletta is an extinct genus of basal procolophonid parareptile from Early Triassic deposits of Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. It is known from the holotype GHG 228, a skull with fragmentary lower jaws. It was collected on the farm Brakfontein 333 in the Cradock District. It was found in the Katberg Formation of the Beaufort Group and referred to the Lystrosaurus Assemblage Zone. It was first named by Christopher E. Gow in 2000 and the type species is Coletta seca.
Ankyramorpha is an extinct clade of procolophonomorph parareptiles which lived between the early Cisuralian epoch and the latest Triassic period of Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America.
The Manda Formation is a Middle Triassic (Anisian?) or possibly Late Triassic (Carnian?) geologic formation in Tanzania. It preserves fossils of many terrestrial vertebrates from the Triassic, including some of the earliest dinosauromorph archosaurs. The formation is often considered to be Anisian in age according to general tetrapod biochronology hypotheses and correlations to the Cynognathus Assemblage Zone of South Africa. However, some recent studies cast doubt to this age, suggesting that parts deposits may actually be younger (Carnian) in age.
Bunostegos is an extinct genus of pareiasaur parareptile from the Late Permian of the Agadez Region in Niger. The type species, Bunostegos akokanensis, was named from the Moradi Formation in 2003. It was a cow-sized animal with a distinctive skull that had large bony knobs, similar in form to those of other pareiasaurs but far larger. The species appears to have lived in a desert in the centre of the supercontinent of Pangaea.
Ruhuhuaria is an extinct genus of owenettid procolophonoid reptile known from the Middle Triassic Manda Beds of southwestern Tanzania. Ruhuhuaria is known solely from the holotype CAMZM T997, poorly preserved but complete skull and mandible recently re-discovered in the collections of the Cambridge Museum of Zoology. It was collected by the English paleontologist Francis Rex Parrington in the early 1930s from the Lifua Member of Manda Beds of the Ruhuhu Basin in Songea Urban District of southwestern Tanzania, which dates back to the late Anisian stage of the Middle Triassic. Ruhuhuaria was first described and named by Linda Akiko Tsuji, Gabriela Sobral and Johannes Müller in 2013 and the type species is Ruhuhuaria reiszi. The generic name is derived from the name of the Ruhuhu Basin. The specific name, reiszi, honors the Canadian paleontologist Robert R. Reisz.
Barasaurus is an extinct genus of owenettid procolophonoid parareptile known from the Late Permian and Early Triassic of Madagascar. It contains a single species, Barasaurus besairiei.
Saurodektes is an extinct genus of owenettid procolophonoid parareptile known from the earliest Triassic deposits of Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. It was first named by Sean P. Modesto, Ross J. Damiani, Johann Neveling and Adam M. Yates in 2003 and the type species is Saurodectes rogersorum. The generic name Saurodectes was preoccupied by the generic name of Saurodectes vrsanskyi Rasnitsyn & Zherikhin, 2000, a fossil chewing lice known from the Early Cretaceous of Russia. Thus, an alternative generic name, Saurodektes, was proposed by Modesto et al. in 2004. The generic name means "lizard", sauros, and "biter", dektes from Greek. The specific name, rogersorum, honors Richard and Jenny Rogers, owners of the farm Barendskraal, for their hospitality, support and interest in the work of the paleontologists who recovered the holotype. Saurodektes is known solely from the holotype BP/1/6025, a partial skull and some fragmentary partial postcranial elements, housed at the Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, although the unprepared specimens BP/1/6044, BP/1/6045 and BP/1/6047 might also be referable to it. All specimens were collected on the slopes of the Manhaar Hill at Barendskraal in the Middelburg District, from the Palingkloof Member of the Balfour Formation, Beaufort Group, only 12 metres below the base of the Katberg Formation. This horizon belongs to the Lystrosaurus Assemblage Zone, dating to the early Induan stage of the Early Triassic period.
Teyujagua is an extinct genus of small, probably semi-aquatic archosauromorph reptile that lived in Brazil during the Early Triassic period. The genus contains the type and only known species, T. paradoxa. It is known from a well-preserved skull, and probably resembled a crocodile in appearance. It was an intermediary between the primitive archosauromorphs and the more advanced Archosauriformes, revealing the mosaic evolution of how the key features of the archosauriform skull were acquired. Teyujagua also provides additional support for a two-phase model of archosauriform radiation, with an initial diversification in the Permian followed by a second adaptive radiation in the Early Triassic.
