Varanosaurus

Taxobox
name = "Varanosaurus"
fossil_range = Early Permian
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Synapsida
ordo = Pelycosauria
familia = Varanopseidae
genus = "Varanosaurus"

"Varanosaurus" ('monitor lizard') is an extinct genus of early pelycosaur synapsid that was up to 1 m long that lived during early Permian (260 million years ago).

As its name implies, "Varanosaurus" looked very similar to present-day monitor lizards. It had a flattened, elongated skull and a pointed snout with a row of sharp teeth, including two pairs of conscipcuous pseudocanines. It was a small, nimble reptile, shown by its dentition to have been a predator.

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

References

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

See also

* Varanus