THRINAXODON

extinct genus of advanced mammal-like reptiles, found as fossils in continental deposits formed during the Early Triassic Period in southern Africa (the Triassic Period lasted from 245 to 208 million years ago). Thrinaxodon was a lightly built animal about 1/2 metre (1 1/2 feet) long. The limbs and limb girdles were strongly built; the body was raised well off the ground. Thrinaxodon was probably a quickly moving predator. It is not certain whether Thrinaxodon possessed a reptilian skin or hair, whether it cared for its young, or even whether it laid eggs or gave birth to live offspring.