Pareiasaurus
genus of Permian parareptiles
Pareiasaurus (from Greek: pareia, "cheek" and Greek: sauros, "lizard") is an extinct genus of pareiasauromorph reptile from the Permian period. It was a typical member of its family, the pareiasaurids, which take their name from this genus.
Fossils have been found in the Beaufort Group.
Description
Pareiasaurus is a large quadruped, about 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) long, with elephantine legs, walking in a typically reptilian posture. The skull is broad and the snout short. Its skull had several spine- and wart-like protrusions. Pareiasaurus's leaf-shaped teeth, ideal for biting through tough plant fibers, indicate it was a herbivore. Even the palate had teeth.
Species
P. nasicornis (Haughton and Boonstra, 1929) is from the Tropidostoma Zone, Karoo basin, South Africa. This early form is one of the first representatives of the genus.
The public source identifies “Pareiasaurus” as genus of Permian parareptiles. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Pareiasaurus, genus and Permian.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Pareiasaurus”, the useful work is to connect “genus of Permian parareptiles” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 3, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q967742. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1929.
A general summary may omit uncertainty, sample limits or methodological disagreement that is explicit in the technical record. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Pareiasaurus” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.