Paleothyris

genus of reptiles

Paleothyris was a small, agile, anapsid reptile which lived in the Pennsylvanian epoch in Nova Scotia (about 312 to 304 million years ago).

Paleothyris
Temporal range: Pennsylvanian
Paleothyris (details not accurate)
Scientific classification
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Paleothyris

Carroll, 1969
Species
  • P. acadiana Carroll, 1969 (type)

Paleothyris had sharp teeth and large eyes: 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 forest home.

Paleothyris was an early sauropsid, yet it still had some features that were more labyrinthodont-like than reptile-like. Its skull lacked fenestrae, holes found in the skulls of most reptiles and mammals.

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