Archaeothyris
| Pelycosaurs Temporal range: Late Carboniferous
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| Genus: | Archaeothyris
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| Species: | Archaeothyris florensis
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| Archaeothyris florensis Reisz, 1972
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Archaeothyris was an amniote, it was lizard-like in appearance. It is one of the oldest synapsids known. It lived in the Late Carboniferous Period (300 mya). It was found in Nova Scotia, the same locality as Hylonomus, Petrolacosaurus, and many other early sauropsids. Unlike the Hylonomus and its kin, Archaeothyris was a bigger (50 cm, head to tail) and may have eaten them. Also, Archaeothyris was more advanced than the early sauropsids.