Pareiasaurs (meaning "cheek lizards") are an extinct clade of large, herbivorous parareptiles. Members of the group were armoured with osteoderms which covered large areas of the body. They first appeared in southern Pangea during the Middle Permian, before becoming globally distributed during the Late Permian. Pareiasaurs were the largest reptiles of the Permian, some reaching sizes over 1 tonne (2,200 lb), equivalent to the largest contemporary therapsids. Pareiasaurs became extinct in the end-Permian mass extinction event.
>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<
👉 Pareiasauria in the context of Megaherbivore
Megaherbivores (Greek μέγας megas "large" and Latin herbivora "herbivore") are large herbivores that can exceed 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) in weight. The earliest herbivores to reach such sizes like the pareiasaurs appeared in the Permian period. During most of the Mesozoic, the megaherbivore niche was largely dominated by dinosaurs up until their extinction during the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. After this period, small mammalian species evolved into large herbivores in the Paleogene. As part of the Late Pleistocene megafauna extinctions, 80% of megaherbivore species became extinct, with megaherbivores becoming entirely extinct in Europe, Australia and the Americas. Recent megaherbivores include elephants, rhinos, hippos, and giraffes. There are nine extant species of terrestrial megaherbivores living in Africa and Asia. The African bush elephant is the largest extant species.
Extant megaherbivores are keystone species in their environment. They defoliate the landscape and spread a greater number of seeds than other frugivores. Extant megaherbivores, like most large mammals, are K-selected species and are characterized by their large size, relative immunity to predation, their effect on plant species, and their dietary tolerance.
In this Dossier
Pareiasauria in the context of Parareptilia
Parareptilia ("near-reptiles") is an extinct subclass of basal sauropsids ("reptiles"). Traditionally considered the sister taxon to Eureptilia (the group that likely contains all living reptiles and birds), some phylogenetic analyses now recognize it to be a paraphyletic assemblage of unrelated early reptiles.
"Parareptiles" first arose near the end of the Carboniferous period and achieved their highest diversity during the Permian period. Several ecological innovations were first accomplished by "parareptiles" among reptiles. These include the first reptiles to return to marine ecosystems (mesosaurs), the first bipedal reptiles (bolosaurids such as Eudibamus), the first reptiles with advanced hearing systems (nycteroleterids and others), and the first large herbivorous reptiles, the pareiasaurs, the largest of which reached the sized of oxen. The only "parareptiles" to survive into the Triassic period were the procolophonoids, a group of small lizard-like generalists, omnivores, and herbivores. The largest family of procolophonoids, the procolophonids, rediversified in the Triassic, but subsequently declined and became extinct by the end of the period.