noun
- an extinct mammal-like reptile that lived from the Permian to the Jurassic periods and is considered ancestral to mammals
Usage: paleontology
Examples
- The therapsid fossils showed early mammalian characteristics.
- Scientists discovered a new therapsid species in South Africa.
- Therapsids dominated terrestrial ecosystems before the dinosaurs.
- The skull structure of this therapsid suggests it was carnivorous.
- Many therapsids had differentiated teeth unlike typical reptiles.
- This therapsid specimen dates back to the late Permian period.