Family †Pareiasauridae Rank Genus | Class Reptilia Phylum Chordata | |
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Pumiliopareia is an extinct genus of pareiasaurid parareptile from the Permian period of South Africa.It is known from a complete skeleton with osteoderms.
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Description
Pumiliopareia was about 50 cm in length with a 12 cm skull. It is the smallest known member of the pareiasaurs, measuring only a fifth as long as some of its larger relatives. Like Anthodon, its body was entirely covered with osteoderms. In analyses that support a pareiasaur origin of turtles, the sister taxon of the testudines. However it specifically shares with turtles a single trait only: Ribs greatly expanded anteroposteriorly (i.e. wide).
Classification
Originally included under the genus Nanoparia, it was given its own name by Lee 1997 who found it did not form a clade with Nanoparia luckhoffi, the type species of that genus, and preferred to have monophyletic genera. Nanoparia may still be a paraphyletic genus, which is allowed in Linanean binomial taxonomy, or it may be that all three pumiliopareiasaurs are similar enough to belong to single genus.