Varanosaurus
Varanosaurus ('monitor lizard') is an extinct genus of early pelycosaur synapsid that lived during the Kungurian.
A reconstruction of Varanosaurus acutirostris
| Varanosaurus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Family: | †Ophiacodontidae |
| Genus: | †Varanosaurus Broili, 1904 |
| Type species | |
| †Varanosaurus acutirostris Broili, 1904 | |
| Species[1] | |
| |
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]
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See also
References
- "Varanosaurus". Fossilworks. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
- Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 187. ISBN 978-1-84028-152-1.
- 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.
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