The pelycosaurs were smallish to large (upto 3 meters or more) primitive Late Paleozoicsynapsid reptiles. They appeared during the late Carboniferous and reached their acme in the early Permian, remaining the dominant land animals for many millions of years. A few stragglers continued into the late Permian.
At least two clades of Pelycosaurs independently evolved a tall sail, consisting of elongated vertebral spines. In life this would have been covered by skin, and presumably functioned as a thermoregulatory device. Pelycosaur fossils have been found mainly in Europe and North America, although some small late-surviving forms are known from Russia and South Africa.
Well-known pelycosaurs include the generaDimetrodon, Edaphosaurus, and Ophiacodon.
The "pelycosaurs" are members of the Synapsida, a major branch of the Amniota, or egg-laying tetrapods.
Pelycosaurs are the earliest, most primitive synapsids, a group characterized by a single dermal opening in the skull permitting muscle attachment to the jaw.
The pelycosaurs indeed resemble large lizards in their overall appearance, but as we have seen, this is a misnomer since pelycosaurs are not reptiles.
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