Varanosaurus

Varanosaurus ('monitor lizard') is an extinct genus of early pelycosaur synapsid that lived during the Kungurian.

A reconstruction of Varanosaurus acutirostris

Varanosaurus Temporal range: Early Permian, 280 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Family:	†Ophiacodontidae
Genus:	†Varanosaurus Broili, 1904
Type species
†Varanosaurus acutirostris Broili, 1904
Species[1]
†V. acutirostris Broili 1904 (type) †V. wichitaensis Romer 1937

Description

Varanosaurus acutirostris being devoured by Dimetrodon limbatus

As its name implies, Varanosaurus may have looked superficially similar to present-day monitor lizards.

Varanosaurus had a flattened, elongated skull and a pointed snout with a row of sharp teeth, including two pairs of conspicuous pseudocanines, implying that it was an active predator.[2]

Varanosaurus probably lived in swamps, competing with the larger Ophiacodon for food.

Classification

Below is a cladogram modified from the analysis of Benson (2012):[3]

	Tseajaia campi     Limnoscelis paludis   Amniota     Captorhinus spp.     Protorothyris archeri     Synapsida     Caseasauria       Ianthodon schultzei       Edaphosauridae     Sphenacodontia             Varanopidae   Ophiacodontidae   Archaeothyris florensis       Varanosaurus acutirostris       Ophiacodon spp.     Stereophallodon ciscoensis

See also

• List of pelycosaurs

References

1. "Varanosaurus". Fossilworks. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
2. Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 187. ISBN 978-1-84028-152-1.
3. Benson, R.J. (2012). "Interrelationships of basal synapsids: cranial and postcranial morphological partitions suggest different topologies". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. in press (4): 601–624. doi:10.1080/14772019.2011.631042.

Further reading

• Benes, Josef. Prehistoric Animals and Plants. Pg. 90. Artia: Prague, 1979.