''Palaeophis'' ('ancient snake') is an extinct genus of marine

snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...

that is the

type genus In biological taxonomy, the type genus (''genus typica'') is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name. Zoological nomenclature According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearin ...

of the extinct snake family

Palaeophiidae Palaeophiidae is an extinct family of marine snake within the infraorder Alethinophidia. Species within this family lived from the Late Cretaceous to the Late Eocene, approximately from 70.6 to 33.9 million years ago.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 ...

epoch, with some unnamed or questionable records from

Cenomanian The Cenomanian is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy's (ICS) geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age (geology), age of the Late Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch or the lowest stage (stratigraphy), stage of the Upper Cretace ...

and

Maastrichtian The Maastrichtian ( ) is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) geologic timescale, the latest age (geology), age (uppermost stage (stratigraphy), stage) of the Late Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch or Upper Cretaceous series (s ...

. Fossils of species within this genus have been found in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

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 ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

and

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

. Remains have also been found in North America, including Maryland and Virginia (from the early Eocene Nanjemoy Formation),Blake, S. F. "Note on a vertebra of Palaeophis from the Eocene of Maryland." Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences 31.12 (1941): 501-503. GeorgiaParmley, Dennis, and Harold W. Reed. "Size and age class estimates of North American Eocene palaeopheid snakes." Georgia Journal of Science 61.4 (2003): 220. and Mississippi.Holman, J. Alan. "Palaeophis casei, new species, a tiny palaeophid snake from the early Eocene of Mississippi." Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 2.2 (1982): 163-166.

Description

Palaeophis maghrebianus life restoration

These species varied broadly in size; ''Palaeophis casei'' is the smallest at 1.3 metres of length, while the largest species, ''Palaeophis colossaeus'', is estimated to have been long based on isolated vertebrae, making it one of the largest known snakes. However, most species of the genus were not as big. There are many species of ''Palaeophis'' but they can be separated into two assemblages of species or grades. In which the primitive grade include species whose vertebrae are weakly laterally compressed and have less developed and low process of vertebrae. Subsequently the advanced grade are characterized by vertebrae presenting a strong lateral compression which translate to being much better adaption to aquatic life.

Biology

Species of ''Palaeophis'' were specialised aquatic animals, as their fossils occur primarily in marine strata, though at least some estuarine remains have also been found. Different species are thought to have occupied different ecological niches. Studies on ''Palaeophis'' vertebrae show a high degree of vascularisation, suggesting that it had a considerably faster metabolism and growth rate than modern snakes. This may suggest that palaeophiids, like other marine reptiles such as

mosasaur Mosasaurs (from Latin ''Mosa'' meaning the 'Meuse', and Ancient Greek, Greek ' meaning 'lizard') are an extinct group of large aquatic reptiles within the family Mosasauridae that lived during the Late Cretaceous. Their first fossil remains wer ...

s, might have developed towards endothermy.

References

Eocene snakes Paleocene reptiles of Europe Paleogene reptiles of Africa Eocene reptiles of Europe Taxa named by Richard Owen Fossil taxa described in 1841 Fossils of Denmark Fur Formation Fossils of Mali {{snake-stub