BRADYSAURUS

genus of a group of extinct early reptiles found as fossils in Permian deposits of South Africa (the Permian Period lasted from 286 to 245 million years ago). Bradysaurus is included in a group of early reptiles known as the pareiasaurs, which were characterized by massive bodies, strong limbs and limb supports, and grotesque skulls that carried many bony protuberances. Bradysaurus, like the other pareiasaurs, had serrated teeth along the jaw margins, palatal teeth, and a thick skull; it was adapted to a plant diet. The skull of Bradysaurus was about 0.5 m (about 1.5 feet) long.