Synapsida (Noun)
Meaning
Extinct reptiles of the Permian to Jurassic considered ancestral to mammals.
Classification
Nouns denoting animals.
Examples
- The early synapsids were primarily herbivorous and feed on vegetation that surrounded their habitats in the late Permian to early Triassic periods.
- Synapsida fossils discovered in Africa suggest a close evolutionary connection with early mammals like therapsids.
- Biologists classify the mammal-like reptile Dimetrodon, a synapsid, as a key transitional species leading to mammalian evolution.
- Researchers propose the synapsida group has one synapomorphic characteristic : temporal openings or intratemporal fenestra in the skull.
- Synapsid fossil remains preserved exhibit multi-cusped, chisel-like teeth implying herbivorous feeding behaviors in their habitats.