''Palaeovaranus'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

genus of

varanoid Varanoidea is a superfamily of lizards, including the well-known family Varanidae (the monitors and goannas). Also included in the Varanoidea are the Lanthanotidae (earless monitor lizards), and the extinct Palaeovaranidae. Throughout their long ...

lizards from the Late

Eocene The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It contains two species, ''Palaeovaranus cayluxensis'' and ''Palaeovaranus giganteus'' (formerly assigned to a separate genus ''Melanosauroides''). The genus was first named by

Henri Filhol Henri Filhol Henri Filhol (13 May 1843 – 28 April 1902) was a French medical doctor, malacologist and naturalist born in Toulouse. He was the son of Édouard Filhol (1814-1883), curator of the Muséum de Toulouse. After receiving his early e ...

in 1877, but he had named the species ''Palaeovaranus cayluxi'' earlier as ''Palaeosaurus cayluxi'' in 1873, and as ''Necrosaurus cuxleyi'' in 1876 after it was discovered that ''Palaeosaurus'' was preoccupied. However, he failed to provide any kind of valid description, which renders

Karl Alfred Ritter von Zittel Karl Alfred Ritter von Zittel (25 September 1839 – 5 January 1904) was a German palaeontologist best known for his ''Handbuch der Palaeontologie'' (1876–1880). Biography Karl Alfred von Zittel was born in Bahlingen in the Grand Duchy ...

's 1887 description of the

taxon In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...

as the valid authority on its validity. Despite this, the name ''Necrosaurus'' was the widely used name in the literature afterwards until 2017, when the name ''Palaeovaranus'' was revived. It is placed in the family

Palaeovaranidae Palaeovaranidae, formerly known as Necrosauridae, is an extinct clade of anguimorph lizards known from the Paleogene of Europe. They have sometimes been recovered as members of Varanoidea. It contains three genera. Genera * '' Eosaniwa'' Haub ...

References

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† A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species or languages). It is one of the mo ...

Eocene lizards Eocene reptiles of Europe Eocene France Fossils of France Quercy Phosphorites Formation Eocene Germany Fossils of Germany Fossil taxa described in 1873 {{paleo-lizard-stub