Palaeopython
| Palaeopython Temporal range: Eocene | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Palaeopython fischeri | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Boidae |
| Genus: | Palaeopython Rochebrune, 1880 |
| Species[1] | |
| |
Palaeopython is an extinct genus of snake from the Eocene of the Messel shales, Germany. It was a tree-dwelling snake that reached more than 2 meters in length. Like its modern relatives, the boas, it occasionally dwelled on the ground or in the shallow waters close to the bank.[2]
Fossil in Vienna
References
- Szyndlar, Zbigniew, "Oligocene snakes of southern Germany", Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Volume 14, Issue 1, 1994.
- Ivanov, Martin, "Changes in the composition of the European snake fauna during the Early Miocene and at the Early / Middle Miocene transition", Paläontologische Zeitschrift, 74:4, pages 563-573, Springer Berlin / Heidelberg. ISSN 0031-0220.
- Schaal, Stephan, "Messel Pit Fossil Site – The Legacy of the Environment and Life of the Eocene", in Earth and Life, Springer Netherlands, 2012. ISBN 978-90-481-3428-1.
- ↑ An additional species, P. sardus, was described in 1901 by Alessandro Portis from the Middle Miocene of Monte Albu (Sardinia, Italy). See: A. Portis (1901) Il Palaeopython sardus Port. nuovo pitonide del miocene medio della Sardegna. However, a reevaluation of the holotype specimen of this species revealed it to actually belong to an indeterminate acanthomorph fish. See: Massimo Delfino, Daniel Zoboli, Giorgio Carnevale and Gian Luigi Pillola (2014). "The rediscovered holotype of Palaeopython sardus Portis, 1901 from the Miocene of Sardinia belongs to a fish, not to a snake". Bollettino della Società Paleontologica Italiana 53 (2): 89–92.
- ↑ http://s206850727.online.de/tinc?key=iY44S7oj&session_currentpage=index&session_mode=guest&formname=Katalog3&session_sortby=field_10&userid=1253309033;510;937&session_nextpage=data_edit&session_offset=50&session_start=1&session_dbkey=1186380724;299753;796_Katalog3&dbkey=1186380724;299753;796_Katalog3
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