[ kot-l-uh-sawr ]
/ ˈkɒt l əˌsɔr /
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.
Words nearby cotylosaur
Origin of cotylosaur
Also called root reptile, stem reptile.
OTHER WORDS FROM cotylosaurcot·y·lo·sau·ri·an, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Science 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
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