cotylosaur
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.
Origin of cotylosaur
1- Also called root reptile, stem reptile .
Other words from cotylosaur
- cot·y·lo·sau·ri·an, adjective
Words Nearby cotylosaur
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Scientific definitions for 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.
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