Captorhinidae

Captorhinidae is a family of extinct reptiles that lived during the Permian Period, approximately 299 to 251 million years ago. These early reptiles, known as captorhinomorphs, are considered by some to be ancestral to most later reptiles, as well as mammals and birds.12

A notable genus within this family is Captorhinus, which was small, about 30 cm (12 inches) in length, with a skull around 7 cm (2.75 inches) long. Captorhinus resembled modern lizards and had a nearly solid skull, lacking openings for jaw muscle attachment. This feature distinguished them from later reptiles that evolved stronger jaws for more efficient chewing. While common in the early Permian, captorhinomorphs became less prevalent in the late Permian, with only a small group surviving into the Triassic Period before becoming extinct.13