Millerettidae is anextinctfamily of early reptiles from theMiddle Permian to theLate Permian period (Capitanian -Changhsingian stages) ofSouth Africa.[1] Although they were interpreted as a group of 'parareptiles',[2] recent anatomical studies[3][4] and phylogenetic analyses[5] have suggested that they are better interpreted as close relatives of the Neodiapsida as part of the larger cladeParapleurota. The millerettids were smallinsectivores and probably resembled modernlizards in appearance and lifestyle, even possessing a tympanum, or eardrum, on the side of their skull.[5]
The followingcladogram shows thephylogenetic position of the Millerettidae within 'Parareptilia', from Ruta et al., 2011.[6]
Subsequent research by Jenkins and colleagues (2025) based onsynchrotron data and an expansive phylogenetic dataset recovered the Millerettidae as thesister group to the Neodiapsida, closer to the reptilecrown group. These results are displayed in thecladogram below, with taxa traditionally regarded as 'parareptiles' highlighted:[5]
^Jenkins, Xavier A; Benson, Roger B J; Elliott, Maya; Jeppson, Gabriel; Dollman, Kathleen; Fernandez, Vincent; Browning, Claire; Ford, David P; Choiniere, Jonah; Peecook, Brandon R (2025-03-03). "New information on the anatomically derived millerettidMilleretta rubidgei from the latest Permian based on µCT data".Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.203 (3).doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaf004.ISSN0024-4082.
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