| Nycteroleter | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Fossil ofN. bashkyricus inMoscow Paleontological Museum | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | †Parareptilia |
| Order: | †Procolophonomorpha |
| Family: | †Nycteroleteridae |
| Genus: | †Nycteroleter Efremov,1938 |
| Type species | |
| †Nycteroleter ineptus Efremov, 1938 | |
Nycteroleter is anextinctgenus ofnycteroleteridparareptile known from theMiddle Permian ofEuropean Russia.[1] Fossils were first found in theMezen River, near toArkhangelsk. Within theNycteroleteridae, it is considered most closely related toEmeroleter. However, its legs were shorter than those ofEmeroleter and its skull was flatter.[2]Nycteroleter was insectivorous, and may have been nocturnal. It was a small animal, less than a metre long.
Nycteroleter is classified as a primitiveprocolophonian, related to thePareisauridae. It is not certain whether the nycteroleterids formed amonophyletic orpolyphyletic group, asRhipaeosaurus seems to be more similar to pareisaurids than to other nycteroleterids. Previously, it was uncertain whether nycteroleterids wereparareptiles or reptile-likeamphibians.[2]
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