Pareiasaurus large quadruped, about 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) long, with elephantine legs, walking in a typically reptilian posture. The skull is broad and the snout short. Its skull had several spine- and wart-like protrusions. Pareiasaurus's leaf-shaped teeth, ideal for biting through tough plant fibers, indicate it was a herbivore. Even the palate had teeth.