''Anarosaurus'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

pachypleurosaur left, 220px, '' Pachypleurosaurus'' Pachypleurosauria is an extinct clade of primitive sauropterygian reptiles that vaguely resembled aquatic lizards, and were limited to the Triassic period. They were elongate animals, ranging in size from , w ...

s that lived in the

Middle Triassic In the geologic timescale, the Middle Triassic is the second of three epochs of the Triassic period or the middle of three series in which the Triassic system is divided in chronostratigraphy. The Middle Triassic spans the time between Ma and ...

period (

Anisian In the geologic timescale, the Anisian is the lower stage or earliest age of the Middle Triassic series or epoch and lasted from million years ago until million years ago. The Anisian Age succeeds the Olenekian Age (part of the Lower Triassic Ep ...

) and has been found in the

Jena Formation The Jena Formation is a geologic formation in Germany. It preserves fossils dating back to the Triassic period. See also * List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Germany See also * Lists of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Europ ...

and the

Karlstadt Formation Karlstadt may refer to: * Karlstadt am Main, Germany * Karlovac, Croatia (German name Karlstadt) * Karlstad, Sweden * Karlstad, Minnesota People with the surname * Andreas Karlstadt, contemporary of Martin Luther during the Reformation See also ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and the Winterswijk Quarry ( Lower Muschelkalk) of

The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. Two species are known: ''A. pumilio'' (the type species) and ''A. heterodontus''. The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

of ''A. pumilio'' was originally housed at the Institut und Museum fur Geologie und Palaontologie, Georg-August-Universitat, Gottingen, but can no longer be located today because it was lost or destroyed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. ''Anarosaurus'' was a small reptile with an estimated body length of .

References

Triassic plesiosaurs Extinct animals of Europe Anisian life Sauropterygian genera {{triassic-reptile-stub