''Labidosaurus'' (from el, λᾰβῐ́δος , 'forceps' and el, σαῦρος , 'lizard') is an extinct genus of

reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...

from the Permian period of North America. Fossils have been discovered in Texas. It was heavily built, resembling a

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

with a large head, and measuring about long. Unlike many other captorhinids it had a single row of sharp, conical teeth in its jaws, and its dietary habits are assumed to have been omnivorous. A lower jaw of ''Labidosaurus'' was described in 2011 that shows evidence of osteomyelitis, or an infection of the bone. It is the earliest known example of an infection in a land vertebrate. The infection probably developed because the pulp cavity of a broken dentary tooth was exposed to bacteria. Although another tooth would have replaced the broken one, regeneration would have been slow. ''Labidosaurus'' and other derived captorhinids had teeth that were deeply implanted in the jaws. This deep implantation limited tooth replacement, meaning that a broken tooth would have been exposed for a long period of time.

References

Permian reptiles of North America Captorhinids Cisuralian genus first appearances Cisuralian genus extinctions Prehistoric reptile genera {{permian-reptile-stub