Varanosaurus ('monitor lizard') is an extinct genus of early ophiacodontid synapsid that lived during the Artinskian[2] and Kungurian ages of the Permian.

[3] As its name implies, Varanosaurus may have looked superficially similar to present-day monitor lizards[citation needed], though not related at all.

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.

[citation needed] Below is a cladogram modified from the analysis of Benson (2012):[5] Tseajaia campi Limnoscelis paludis Captorhinus spp.

Protorothyris archeri Caseasauria Ianthodon schultzei Edaphosauridae Sphenacodontia Varanopidae Archaeothyris florensis Varanosaurus acutirostris Ophiacodon spp.