Pareiasaurus

Name: Pareiasaurus‭ (‬Helmet cheeked lizard‭)‬.
Phonetic: Pa-rye-ah-sore-us.
Named By: Richard Owen‭ ‬-‭ ‬1876.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Procolophonomorpha,‭ ‬Procolophonia,‭ ‬Pareiasauridae.
Species: P. serridens (type), P.‭ ‬baini,‭ ‬P.‭ ‬bombidens,‭ ‬P.‭ ‬russouwi.
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: 2.5‭ ‬meters long.
Known locations: Southerm Africa.
Time period: Late Permian.
Fossil representation: Several skeletons.

       Superficially,‭ ‬Pareiasaurus is very similar to its relative Scutosaurus.‭ ‬The main differences between the two are the way the legs support the body.‭ ‬In Scutosaurus the legs are directly underneath the body,‭ ‬giving it a much taller appearance.‭ ‬The legs of Pareiasaurus however came out from the sides in a more familiar reptilian fashion like todays lizards.‭ ‬This means that Pareiasaurus would have carried itself nearer to the ground than Scutosaurus suggesting a specialisation in feeding off very low growing vegetation.‭ ‬A further adaption for a herbivorous lifestyle,‭ ‬Pareiasaurus had leaf shaped teeth and a toothed palate to grind vegetation against.

Further reading
- The Armour of the Extinct Reptiles of the Genus Pareiasaurus - Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London Vol 78, Issue 3, p605–610 - H. G. Seeley - 1908.
- Notes on the possible evidence of the presence of a Pareiasaurus-like reptile in the Conemaugh Series of West Virginia. - West Virginia Geological Survey: Braxton and Clay Counties 817-821 - E. C. Case - 1917.
- New genera and species of tetrapods from the Karroo Beds of South Africa. - Journal of Paleontology 11(7):613-619 - E. C. Olsen & R. Broom - 1937.

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