
''Coniophis'' is an extinct
genus of
snakes from the late
Cretaceous period. The type species, ''
Coniophis precedes'', was about 7 cm long and had snake-like teeth and body form, with a
skull and a largely
lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...
-like bone structure.
It probably ate small
vertebrates. The fossil remains of ''Coniophis'' were first discovered at the end of the 19th century in the
Lance Formation of the US state of
Wyoming, and were described in 1892 by Othniel Charles Marsh.
For the genus ''Coniophis'', a number of other species have been described. Their affiliation is, however, poorly secured, mostly based on vertebrae descriptions from only a few fossils.
Fossil distribution
Fossils of ''Coniophis'' have been found in:
;Cretaceous
*
Milk River and
Frenchman Formations, Canada (Alberta, Saskatchewan)
*
Intertrappean Beds
The Intertrappean Beds are a Late Cretaceous geologic formation in India. The beds are found as interbeds between Deccan Traps layers. Indeterminate theropod and pterosaur remains have been recovered from the formation, as well as dinosaur e ...
, India
*
Wadi Milk Formation
The Wadi Milk Formation is a geological formation in Sudan whose strata date back to the Late Cretaceous. Originally, the formation was thought to be Albian to Cenomanian, later research has provided dating to the Campanian to Maastrichtian. Dinosa ...
, Sudan
* United States
**
Hell Creek Formation, Montana
**
Fruitland Formation, New Mexico
**
Naturita,
Cedar Mountain,
Straight Cliffs,
Kaiparowits and
Wahweap Formations, Utah
**
Lance Formation, Wyoming
;Paleocene
*
Santa Lucía Formation (
Tiupampan), Bolivia
*
Jbel Guersif Formation, Morocco
*
Fort Union Formation, Montana, United States
;Eocene
*
Itaboraí Formation, Brazil
* France
*
Aït Ouarhitane Formation, Morocco
* United States
**
Chadron Formation, North Dakota
**
Bridger,
Wagon Bed and
Wasatch Formations, Wyoming
References
Further reading
* Adriana María Albino: ' In: ''Ameghiniana'' 27, 1991. S. 337–342.
* Sebastián Apesteguía, Hussam Zaher: ' In: ' 440, 2006. , S. 1037–1040.
* Judy Gail Armstrong-Ziegler: ' In: ' 52 (2), 1978. S. 480–483.
* Marc Augé, Jean-Claude Rage: ' In: ' 92, 2006. , S. 235–253.
* Richard Estes: 'In: ' 50, 1976. S. 500–520.
* Richard C. Fox: ' In: ' 12, 1975. S. 1557–1563.
* James D. Gardner, Richard L. Cifelli: ' In: David M. Unwin: ' 60, 1999. S. 87–100.
* Robert Hoffstetter: ' In:
Jean Piveteau: ' Masson, Paris 1955. S. 606–662
* J. Alan Holman: ' Indiana University Press, Bloomington 2000. .
* Nicholas R. Longrich, Bhart-Anjan S. Bhullar, Jacques A. Gauthier: ' In: ''Nature'', 2012. , S. 1–4.
* Nicholas R. Longrich, Bhart-Anjan S. Bhullar, Jacques A. Gauthier: ' In: ''Nature'', 2012. , S. 1–10.
* Othniel Charles Marsh: ' In: ' 43, 1892. S. 449–453.
* Paul Orman McGrew, Max K. Hecht, John M. Hummel, George Gaylord Simpson, Albert Elmer Wood: ' In: ' 117, 1959. S. 117–176.
Volltext
* Jean-Claude Rage: ' In: ''Palaeontographica Abteilung A'' 25, 1988. S. 3–27.
* Jean-Claude Rage, C. Werner: ' In: ''Palaeontologia Africana'' 35, 1999. S. 85–110.
* Jean-Claude Rage, Guntupalli V.R. Prasad, Sunil Bajpai: ' In: ' 25, 2004. , S. 425–434.
* Jean-Claude Rage, Marc Augé: ' In: ''Geobios'' 42, 2010. , 253–268.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1126074
Cretaceous snakes
Eocene snakes
Turonian genus first appearances
Priabonian extinctions
Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary
Late Cretaceous reptiles of Africa
Late Cretaceous reptiles of Asia
Fossils of India
Late Cretaceous reptiles of North America
Cretaceous Canada
Cretaceous United States
Fossils of Canada
Fossils of the United States
Eocene reptiles of Africa
Fossils of Morocco
Eocene reptiles of Europe
Eocene France
Fossils of France
Paleocene reptiles of North America
Paleogene United States
Paleocene reptiles of South America
Paleocene Bolivia
Fossils of Bolivia
Tiupampan
Eocene Brazil
Fossils of Brazil
Itaboraian
Fossil taxa described in 1892
Taxa named by Othniel Charles Marsh
Paleocene reptiles of Africa
Eocene reptiles of North America
Eocene reptiles of South America
Paleocene snakes
Cretaceous India
Cretaceous Sudan