Protorothyrididae was a family of small, lizard-like reptiles, possibly the ancestors of turtles and tortoises. Their skulls did not have fenestrae, as is also true of modern turtles and tortoises. Protorothyridids lived from the Late Carboniferous to Early Permian periods, in what is now North America and Europe. One member of this family is Hylonomus from the early Late Carboniferous, so far the earliest confirmed reptile.
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