yüˌnōd.əˈsȯrəs noun
Usage: capitalized
Etymology: New Latin, probably from Greek eunōtos stout-backed (from eu- + nōtos, nōton back) + New Latin -saurus — more at nates
: a genus of small generalized reptiles from the Middle Permian of southern Africa that have the vertebrae reduced in number and the ribs broad and somewhat leaf-shaped, are often considered ancestral to the turtles, and are commonly placed in a separate suborder of Chelonia