Heleosaurus
Heleosaurus scholtzi is an extinct species of basal synapsids, known as pelycosaurs, in the family of Varanopidae during the middle Permian. At first H. scholtzi was mistakenly classified as a diapsid. Members of this family were carnivorous and had dermal armor, and somewhat resembled monitor lizards. This family was the most geologically long lived, widespread, and diverse group of early amniotes. To date only two fossils have been found in the rocks of South Africa. One of these fossils is an aggregation of five individuals.
| Heleosaurus Temporal range: Early-Middle Permian, | |
|---|---|
| Drawing of the Holotype specimen of Heleosaurus scholtzi (from Carroll, 1976) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Family: | †Varanopidae |
| Subfamily: | †Mycterosaurinae |
| Genus: | †Heleosaurus Broom, 1907 |
| Type species | |
| †Heleosaurus scholtzi Broom, 1907 | |
H. scholtzi was first described by Broom in 1907 who originally placed it as an early diapsid. It is named for his student, T.J.R. Scholtz, and was originally called Galechirus scholtzi. Later work placed it as an Eosuchian in the family Younginidae and even proposed as an ancestor for Archosauria. More recent work has placed it where it is now within Mycterosaurinae in the family Varanopidae. The closely related Elliotsmithia longiceps has been placed in a sister taxon to H. scholtzi.