Saurosternon bainii (Huxley 1868) - Latest Permian/ Early Triassic, ~250 mya ~6 cm snout to vent length, was a tiny basal lepidosaur derived from a sister to Palaegama. Phylogenetically Saurosternon precedes the Triassic gliders beginning with Coelurosauravus.

Overall smaller and distinct from Palaegama, the tail of Saurosternon was shorter.

Two sternae appear at the posterior tip of the elongated T-shape interclavicle. The humerus was smaller. The original reconstructions of the manus and pes may be erroneous. Alternate interpretations are presented above in which metacarpal 2 and metatarsal 3 were the longest in each series. The pes was larger.

Broom R 1913. A revision of the reptiles of the Karroo. Annals of the South African Museum 7(6):361-366.

Carroll RL 1988. Late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic lepidosauromorphs and their relation to lizard ancestry, in R Estes & G Pregill (eds.) Phylogenetic Relationships of the Lizard Families, Stanford Univ. Press, 99-118.

Gauthier J, deQuieroz K and Estes R 1988. A phylogenetic analysis of Lepidosauromorpha, in R Estes & G Pregill (eds.), Phylogenetic Relationships of the Lizard Families, Stanford U. Press, pp. 15-98.

Huxley TH 1868. On Saurosternon Bainii, and Pristerodon McKayi, Two New Fossil Lacertilian Reptiles from South Africa. Geological Magazine 5:201-205.

Modesto SP and Reisz RR 2003. An enigmatic new diapsid reptile from the Upper Permian of Eastern Europe. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 22 (4): 851-855.

wiki/Eolacertilia