A reassessment of Eunotosaurus africanus Seeley (Amniota: Parareptilia).

Abstract

This paper provides an almost complete description of the Permian fossil reptile Eunotosaurus for the first time. Taphonomy indicates that these were terrestrial animals; dentition suggests that they preyed on small invertebrates; while the broad, imbricating ribs point to a slow moving animal with a protective, turtle-like carapace. Temporal emargination and the fan-like iliac blade serve to align these animals with Parareptilia, sensu Laurin and Reisz ( 1995). Eunorosaurusand millerettids are sister taxa on the basis of s tapes and rib morphology, and together they constitute the sister taxon to Ankyramopha (Debraga and Reisz 1996), having eight characters in which they are less derived than the latter.