I I S THE STORY OF THE EARTH. 



comprises the groups named Theriodontia, Dicy- 

 nodontia and Pareiasauria. They are animals 

 with depressed bodies rarely lifted high above 

 the ground by their limbs, with relatively la 

 heads, and types of dentition which are anoma- 

 lous, because they closely resemble the teeth of 

 different orders of mammals, while preserving 

 tooth characters of reptiles and fishes. Nor is 

 this resemblance to mammals limited to the 

 teeth. It is seen in almost every part of the 

 skeleton ; and although there is no actual transi- 

 tion to mammals, isolated parts of the skeletons 

 have been described as mammalian by different 

 naturalists. 



The Anomodont group is most widely devel- 

 oped in the Permian rocks of South Africa. It is 

 well represented in the Permian of Texas, and 

 other parts of North America. It is recorded from 

 the Gondwana rocks of India, and from the Per- 

 mian rocks of Orenburg in Russia. Anomodont 

 reptiles have also been found in the red sandstones 

 of Elgin. Those rocks were formerly classed as 

 Old Red Sandstone, and subsequently as Trias 

 Owing to the affinities of their fossil reptiles, but 

 on SUCh evidence they may be Permian. 



The Theriodont type generally p - the 



three kinds of teeth which characterise mammals. 

 i mine teeth are strongly developed. This 



i- -ecu in the Russian genus Deuterosaurus^ and in 

 the South African genus Lycosaurus^ both of which 



have the teeth in the front of t he niout h larger 



harp-pointed representatives ^\ the 

 - <1 at i he sides. Deutet 

 finds its place between the Theriodonts and ] 



air of the South A l( mtS 



th compressed and 



