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Palaeophiidae
Palaeophiidae is an extinct family of Marine biology, marine snake within the infraorder Alethinophidia. Species within this family lived from the Cretaceous, Late Cretaceous to the Eocene, Late Eocene, approximately from 70.6 to 33.9 million years ago.Palaeophiidae at Fossilworks.org Phylogenetic analysis has proposed them as being related to the extant Acrochordus, file snakes (family Acrochordidae), although these results have been disputed since and new analysis show this relationship as poorly supported. Subfamilies and genera * Archaeophiinae Rage et al. 2003 ** ''Archaeophis'' Massalongo 1859 * Palaeopheinae Lydekker, 1888 ** ''Palaeophis'' Owen 1841 ** ''Pterosphenus'' Lucas 1898 Re ...
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Palaeophis
''Palaeophis'' ('ancient snake') is an extinct genus of marine snake that is the type genus of the extinct snake family Palaeophiidae. Described species within this genus lived in the Eocene epoch, with some unnamed or questionable records from Cenomanian and Maastrichtian. Fossils of species within this genus have been found in England, France, Denmark, Morocco and Mali. 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. De ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pterosphenus
''Pterosphenus'' is an extinct genus of marine snake of the Eocene period. Classification ''Pterosphenus'' belong to the Alethinophidia snakes, a clade which includes all snakes outside of blind and thread snakes, and more specifically to the extinct Palaeophiidae. Its closest relative is '' Palaeophis'', of which both belong to the subfamily Palaeopheinae. Five species are known, ''P. schucherti'' from North America, ''P. sheppardi'' from South America, ''P. schweinfurthi'' from northern Africa and ''P. biswasi'', and ''P. kutchensis'' from Asia. Description While only known from partial remains, enough has been found of ''Pterosphenus'' to suggest it was a large reptile. Based on the regression model used to estimate the length of boids, the most reliable length estimate lies between ; the largest vertebra may have belonged to an individual reaching in length. Its body was strongly laterally compressed as an adaptation to pelagic life. Palaeoenvironment and Palaeoeco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of the entire Phanerozoic. The name is derived from the Latin ''creta'', "chalk", which is abundant in the latter half of the period. It is usually abbreviated K, for its German translation ''Kreide''. The Cretaceous was a period with a relatively warm climate, resulting in high eustatic sea levels that created numerous shallow inland seas. These oceans and seas were populated with now- extinct marine reptiles, ammonites, and rudists, while dinosaurs continued to dominate on land. The world was ice free, and forests extended to the poles. During this time, new groups of mammals and birds appeared. During the Early Cretaceous, flowering plants appeared and began to rapidly diversify, becoming the dominant group of plants across the Earth b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archaeophis
''Archaeophis'' is an extinct genus of snake from the Eocene of Monte Bolca Monte Bolca is a lagerstätte near Verona, Italy that was one of the first fossil sites with high quality preservation known to Europeans, and is still an important source of fossils from the Eocene. Geology Monte Bolca was uplifted from the T .... References * Recent Vertebrate Carcasses and Their Paleobiological Implications by Johannes Weigelt and Judith Schaefer (page 88) Eocene snakes Fossils of Italy Fossil taxa described in 1859 {{snake-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eocene Extinctions
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', "dawn") and (''kainós'', "new") and refers to the "dawn" of modern ('new') fauna that appeared during the epoch. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Paleocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the Eocene is marked by a brief period in which the concentration of the carbon isotope 13C in the atmosphere was exceptionally low in comparison with the more common isotope 12C. The end is set at a major extinction event called the ''Grande Coupure'' (the "Great Break" in continuity) or the Eocene–Oligocene extinction event, which may be related to the impact of one or more large bolides in Siberia and in what is now Chesapeake Bay. As with other geologic periods, the strata that define the start and end of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cretaceous First Appearances
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of the entire Phanerozoic. The name is derived from the Latin ''creta'', "chalk", which is abundant in the latter half of the period. It is usually abbreviated K, for its German translation ''Kreide''. The Cretaceous was a period with a relatively warm climate, resulting in high eustatic sea levels that created numerous shallow inland seas. These oceans and seas were populated with now-extinct marine reptiles, ammonites, and rudists, while dinosaurs continued to dominate on land. The world was ice free, and forests extended to the poles. During this time, new groups of mammals and birds appeared. During the Early Cretaceous, flowering plants appeared and began to rapidly diversify, becoming the dominant group of plants across the Earth by the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prehistoric Reptile Families
Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of symbols, marks, and images appears very early among humans, but the earliest known writing systems appeared 5000 years ago. It took thousands of years for writing systems to be widely adopted, with writing spreading to almost all cultures by the 19th century. The end of prehistory therefore came at very different times in different places, and the term is less often used in discussing societies where prehistory ended relatively recently. In the early Bronze Age, Sumer in Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley Civilisation, and ancient Egypt were the first civilizations to develop their own scripts and to keep historical records, with their neighbors following. Most other civilizations reached the end of prehistory during the following Iron Age. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cretaceous Snakes
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of the entire Phanerozoic. The name is derived from the Latin ''creta'', "chalk", which is abundant in the latter half of the period. It is usually abbreviated K, for its German translation ''Kreide''. The Cretaceous was a period with a relatively warm climate, resulting in high eustatic sea levels that created numerous shallow inland seas. These oceans and seas were populated with now-extinct marine reptiles, ammonites, and rudists, while dinosaurs continued to dominate on land. The world was ice free, and forests extended to the poles. During this time, new groups of mammals and birds appeared. During the Early Cretaceous, flowering plants appeared and began to rapidly diversify, becoming the dominant group of plants across the Earth by the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', "dawn") and (''kainós'', "new") and refers to the "dawn" of modern ('new') fauna that appeared during the epoch. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Paleocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the Eocene is marked by a brief period in which the concentration of the carbon isotope Carbon-13, 13C in the atmosphere was exceptionally low in comparison with the more common isotope Carbon-12, 12C. The end is set at a major extinction event called the ''Grande Coupure'' (the "Great Break" in continuity) or the Eocene–Oligocene extinction event, which may be related to the impact of one or more large bolides in Popigai impact structure, Siberia and in what is now ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acrochordidae
The Acrochordidae, commonly known as wart snakes, Java wart snakes, file snakes, elephant trunk snakes, or dogface snakes are a monogeneric family created for the genus ''Acrochordus''. This is a group of basal aquatic snakes found in Australia and tropical Asia. Currently, three species are recognized. Description All are entirely aquatic, lacking the broad belly-scales found in most other snakes and possessing dorsally located eyes. Their most notable feature is their skin and scales. The skin is loose and baggy, giving the impression of being several sizes too large for the snake, and the scales, rather than overlapping, are tiny pyramidal projections that led to their common names. These snakes are ambush predators, lurking at the bottom of rivers, streams and estuaries, and waiting for fish to approach, which they grip with their coils. The rough scales allow them to hold the fish despite the mucus coating. Adults grow to between 60 cm and 2.43 m in length. Geog ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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