Unaysaurus is a genus of unaysaurid sauropodomorph herbivore dinosaur. Discovered in southern Brazil, in the geopark of Paleorrota, in 1998, and announced in a press conference on Thursday, December 3, 2004, it is one of the oldest dinosaurs known. It is closely related to plateosaurid dinosaurs found in Germany, which indicates that it was relatively easy for species to spread across the giant landmass of the time, the supercontinent of Pangaea.
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.
The Sanga do Cabral Formation is an Early Triassic sedimentary rock formation found in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Candelaria is an extinct genus of owenettid parareptile. It was the first procolophonomorph discovered in the Santa Maria Formation at the geopark of Paleorrota, in the town of Candelária, by Llewellyn Ivor Price in 1942 and described in 1947. The skull and mandible has been measured at 20 millimetres (0.79 in) in height. It was about 40 centimetres (16 in) long and lived during the Ladinian in the Middle Triassic, from about 242 to 235 million years ago.
Kitchingnathus is an extinct genus of basal procolophonid parareptile from Early Triassic deposits of Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. It is known from the holotype BP/1/1187, skull and partial postcranium, which was first assigned to the more derived Procolophon trigoniceps. It was collected by the South African palaeontologist, James W. Kitching in October 1952 from Hobbs Hill, west of Cathcart. It was found in the middle or upper part of the Katberg Formation of the Beaufort Group and referred to the uppermost Lystrosaurus Assemblage Zone. It was first named by Juan Carlos Cisneros in 2008 and the type species is Kitchingnathus untabeni. The generic name honours James W. Kitching, and "gnathus", from Greek gnathos meaning mandible. The specific name meaning "from the hill", in isiZulu, is in reference to the locality where the fossil was found.
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".
Theledectes is an extinct genus of theledectine procolophonid parareptile from middle Triassic deposits of Free State Province, South Africa.The type species, Theledectes perforatus, is based on the holotype BP/1/4585, a flattened skull. This skull was collected by the South African palaeontologist, James W. Kitching from Hugoskop in the Rouxville District and referred to subzone B of the Cynognathus Assemblage Zone of the Burgersdorp Formation, Beaufort Group. The genus was first named by Sean P. Modesto and Ross J. Damiani in 2003. However, the species was initially assigned to the genus Thelegnathus by C.E. Gow in 1977, as the species Thelegnathus perforatus.
Theledectinae is an extinct subfamily of parareptiles within the family Procolophonidae. Theledectines existed in South Africa, China and Australia during the Early-Middle Triassic period. Theledectinae was named by Juan Carlos Cisneros in 2008 to include the genus Theledectes, and the species "Eumetabolodon" dongshengensis. "E." dongshengensis represents a new genus from China. Cladistically, it is defined as "All taxa more closely related to Theledectes perforatus than to Procolophon trigoniceps Owen, 1876". In 2020, Hamley add the new genus Eomurruna from Australia to this subfamily.
Phaanthosaurus is an extinct genus of basal procolophonid parareptile from early Triassic deposits of Nizhnii Novgorod, Russian Federation. It is known from the holotype PIN 1025/1, a mandible. It was collected from Vetluga River, Spasskoe village and referred to the Vokhmian terrestrial horizon of the Vokhma Formation. It was first named by P. K. Chudinov and B. P. Vjushkov in 1956 and the type species is Phaanthosaurus ignatjevi.
Eumetabolodon is an extinct genus of procolophonine procolophonid parareptile from early and middle Triassic deposits of Nei Mongol, northern China. Two species of Eumetabolodon were named by J. L. Li in 1983 and the type species is Eumetabolodon bathycephalus.
Anomoiodon is an extinct genus of procolophonine procolophonid parareptile from early Triassic deposits of Thuringia, Germany. It is known only from the holotype MB.R.3539B and paratype MB.R.3539A, two articulated, three-dimensionally preserved partial skeletons on one block which represent two individuals. The holotype includes nearly complete skull and lower jaw. The block was collected from the lowest layer of the Chirotherium Sandstone Member of the Solling Formation, dating to the early Olenekian faunal stage of the Early Triassic, about 249-247 million years ago. It was first named by Friedrich von Huene in 1939 and the type species is Anomoiodon liliensterni. Laura K. Säilä, who redescribed Anomoiodon in 2008, found it to be a leptopleuronine using a phylogenetic analysis. The most recent analysis, performed by Ruta et al. (2011) found it to be a procolophonine instead. However, both analyses found that it is most closely related to the Russian procolophonid Kapes.
Procolophoninae is an extinct subfamily of procolophonid parareptiles from the late Early Triassic to the early Middle Triassic of Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Europe and South America. Currently, the oldest-known procolophonine is Procolophon from the earliest Olenekian stage.
Leptopleuroninae is an extinct subfamily of procolophonid reptiles. It is defined as all taxa closer to Leptopleuron lacertinum than to Procolophon trigoniceps. The oldest member of Leptopleuroninae is Phonodus dutoitorum from the Induan age of the Early Triassic. It is the only procolophonid group that survived into the Late Triassic.
Pentaedrusaurus is an extinct genus of procolophonid parareptile from the Early Triassic of China. It is one of the most basal members of the procolophonid subfamily Leptopleuroninae. The only known species of Pentaedrusaurus, P. ordosianus, was named in 1989 from the Heshanggou Formation.
Scoloparia is an extinct genus of procolophonid parareptile from the Triassic of Canada. Fossils have been found in the Early Triassic to Norian-age Wolfville Formation in Nova Scotia, Canada. Like many Triassic procolophonids, Scoloparia has expanded molar-like teeth that indicate that the animal was likely herbivorous.
Kapes is an extinct genus of procolophonid parareptile from the Lower and Middle Triassic of the United Kingdom and Russia. The type species K. amaenus was named in 1975 from the banks of the Vychegda River in the Komi Republic of Russia. In 1983, a new species was brought into the genus, K. majmesculae. K. majmesculae was first named in 1968 as a member of the genus Tichvinskia. A third Russian species, K. serotinus, was named in 1991. In 2002, Kapes bentoni was described from the Middle Triassic Otter Sandstone Formation of Devon, England, extending the geographic range of Kapes. In the same paper, K. serotinus was synonymized with K. majmesculae and another Russian species was assigned to Kapes called K. komiensis. K. komiensis was first named in 1975 as a member of the genus Macrophon.
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.
Youngetta is an extinct genus of procolophonid from the Early Triassic of China. It contains a single species, Youngetta dongshengensis.
Hwiccewyrm is an extinct genus of leptopleuronine procolophonid parareptile from the Late Triassic Magnesian Conglomerate of England. The type, and currently only, species is H. trispiculum.
