Saurorictus australis (Modesto and Smith 2001) SAM PK-8666, skull length ~2.2 cm, estimated total length 15 cm, Late Permian, was considered the most complete captorhinid from that stratum. Here Saurorictus was derived from a sister to Thuringothyris and Cephalerpeton. It was basal to Romeria texana, thus basal to the captorhinids. Modesto and Smith report the supratemporal and tabular lost, but basal to so many taxa that retain those bones, Saurorictus probably retained them as well. The supratemporal at this node is reduced to a splinter.

Distinct from Thuringothyris, Saurorictus has a narrower snout in dorsal view. The postorbital skull is shorter. The postorbital and postfrontal were larger. The maxilla was deeper. The splenial is not visible in lateral view on a more gracile mandible.

Above: the original fossil was described as crushed with bone fractures, and originally illustrated with a lacrimal/naris connection. This is the last taxon in this lineage to have that connection.

Martensius bromackerensis (Berman et al. 2020; Early Permian, 50cm; MNG 13814 adult holotype; MNG 14230 juvenile and smallest specimen) was originally considered a caseasaur, nesting between Eocasea and Casea. Here Martensius is basal to Saurorictus and the captorhinid clade. Four specimens were found together, from a juvenile to an adult.

Berman et al. did not test Milleretta, or any LRT casesaur sisters, like Feeserpeton, Australothyris, Acleistorhinus, Eunotosaurusor any other lepidosauromorphs in their phylogenetic analysis. Instead they followed tradition by assuming casesaurs were synapsids. That hypothesis is not confirmed by the LRT.

Berman DS, Maddin HC, Henrici AC Sumida SS, Scott D and Reisz R 2020. New primitive caseid (Synapsida, Caseasauria) from the Early Permian of Germany. Annals of the Carnegie Museum 86(1):43–75.

Modesto SP and Smith RMH 2001. A new Late Permian captorhinid reptile: a first record from the South African Karoo. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 21(3): 405–409.

wiki/Saurorictus
wiki/Martensius