Protorothyrididae
Encyclopedia
Protorothyrididae is a family
of small, lizard-like reptiles. Their skulls did not have fenestrae, as is also true of modern turtles and tortoises. Protorothyridids lived from the Late Carboniferous to Early Permian periods, in what is now North America
. Many genera of primitive reptiles were thought to be protorothyridids. Brouffia
, Coelostegus
, Paleothyris
and Hylonomus
, for example, were recently found to be more basal
eureptiles.
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
of small, lizard-like reptiles. Their skulls did not have fenestrae, as is also true of modern turtles and tortoises. Protorothyridids lived from the Late Carboniferous to Early Permian periods, in what is now North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. Many genera of primitive reptiles were thought to be protorothyridids. Brouffia
Brouffia
Brouffia is an extinct genus of Late Carboniferous basal reptile known from Pilsen of Czech Republic. It is known from a single partial skeleton, the holotype ČGH III B.21.C.587 and MP 451 . It was collected in the Nýřany site from the Nýřany Member of the Kladno Formation...
, Coelostegus
Coelostegus
Coelostegus is an extinct genus of Late Carboniferous basal reptile known from Pilsen of Czech Republic. It is known from the holotype ČGH 3027, a partial skeleton of an immature individual. It was collected in the Nýřany site from the Nýřany Member of the Kladno Formation. It was first named...
, Paleothyris
Paleothyris
Paleothyris was a small, agile, anapsid reptile which lived in the Middle Pennsylvanian epoch in Nova Scotia . Paleothyris had sharp teeth and large eyes, meaning that it was a nocturnal hunter. It was about a foot long. It probably fed on insects and other smaller animals found on the floor of its...
and Hylonomus
Hylonomus
Hylonomus was a very early reptile. It lived 312 million years ago during the Late Carboniferous period.It is the earliest unquestionable reptile ....
, for example, were recently found to be more basal
Basal (phylogenetics)
In phylogenetics, a basal clade is the earliest clade to branch in a larger clade; it appears at the base of a cladogram.A basal group forms an outgroup to the rest of the clade, such as in the following example:...
eureptiles.