Procolophonia
Quick Summary
The Procolophonia were a group of small, lizard-like terrestrial reptiles that lived from the Upper Permian to the Upper Triassic periods. Typically less than 0.5 meters (1.6 feet) long, these reptiles are known from fossils found in North America.12
A representative genus, Captorhinus, was about 30 cm (12 inches) long with a solid skull lacking openings for jaw muscle attachment. This feature distinguished them from later reptiles that developed stronger jaws. The Procolophonians eventually became extinct, with only a few other groups of early reptiles surviving into later periods.21
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