Protoclepsydrops
- 1 min read
- 2 chapters
Explore on Lably
ToursExplore Lably’s 3D toursDescription
Like Archaeothyris, Protoclepsydrops resembled a modern lizard in superficial appearance. However, Protoclepsydrops had primitive vertebrae with tiny neural processes typical of their amniote ancestors. Protoclepsydrops is known from a few vertebrae and some humeri.
Sign in to keep reading
One more chapter is free with a Lably account.
Classification
Its skeletal remains indicate that it may have been more closely related to synapsids than to sauropsids, making it a possible stem-mammal. If so, it is the oldest synapsid known, though its status is unconfirmed because its remains are too fragmentary. Protoclepsydrops lived slightly earlier than Archaeothyris. It is possibly synonymous with Asaphestera, another early synapsid discovered from the same locality.

