Dictionary.com

cotylosaur

[ kot-l-uh-sawr ]
/ ˈkɒt l əˌsɔr /
Save This Word!

noun

any member of the extinct order Cotylosauria, comprising heavy-bodied, splay-limbed, plant-eating reptiles that arose during the Carboniferous Period and that are considered to include the ancestors of all other reptiles.

QUIZZES

THINK YOU’VE GOT A HANDLE ON THIS US STATE NICKNAME QUIZ?

Did you ever collect all those state quarters? Put them to good use on this quiz about curious state monikers and the facts around them.
Question 1 of 8
Mississippi’s nickname comes from the magnificent trees that grow there. What is it?
The Sunflower State
The Evergreen State
The Magnolia State
The Mockingbird State
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT
Also called root reptile, stem reptile .

Origin of cotylosaur

1900–05; <New Latin Cotylosauria, equivalent to cotyl(lus) a hollow space in the bones forming the distinctive articulation of skull and vertebrae, which originally defined the order (masculine noun <Greek kotýlē socket, cup, anything hollow) + -o--o- + -sauria;see -saur, -ia

OTHER WORDS FROM cotylosaur

cot·y·lo·sau·ri·an, adjective

Words nearby cotylosaur

Coty, cotyledon, cotyloid, cotyloid cavity, cotyloid joint, cotylosaur, cotype, coucal, couch, couchant, couché
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Scientific definitions for cotylosaur

cotylosaur
[ kŏt′l-ə-sôr′ ]

Any of a number of extinct reptiles of the group Cotylosauria or Captorhinida of the Carboniferous and Permian Periods that include the ancestors of all terrestrial vertebrates except for amphibians. Cotylosaurs evolved from early amphibians, had four sprawling legs and a long tail, and a skull without temporal openings. Also called stem reptile
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Tired of Typos? Get Help Now!