anapsid

anapsid  (-npsd)

A reptile having a skull with no temporal openings. The earliest reptiles, the cotylosaurs, were anapsids, as are modern turtles. Anapsids probably gave rise to the diapsids and synapsids. Compare diapsidsynapsidtherapsid

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

anapsid - primitive reptile having no opening in the temporal region of the skull; all extinct except turtles anapsid reptile reptile, reptilian - any cold-blooded vertebrate of the class Reptilia including tortoises, turtles, snakes, lizards, alligators, crocodiles, and extinct forms Anapsida, subclass Anapsida - oldest known reptiles; turtles and extinct Permian forms chelonian, chelonian reptile - a reptile of the order Chelonia diapsid, diapsid reptile - reptile having a pair of openings in the skull behind each eye