Presence of the large aquatic snake Palaeophis africanus in the middle Eocene marine margin of the Congo Basin,Cabinda, Angola |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Scientific Survey of Heritage, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, 29 rue Vautier, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium;2. Geodynamics and Mineral Resources, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Leuvensesteenweg 13, 3080 Tervuren, Belgium;3. Operational Directorate Earth and History of Life, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, 29 rue Vautier, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium;1. Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Department of Geoscience, Sigwartstr. 10, 72076 Tübingen, Germany;2. Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment (HEP Tübingen), Sigwartstr. 10, 72076 Tübingen, Germany;1. Museum of Natural and Environmental History, Shizuoka, Shizuoka 422-8017, Japan;2. Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8203, Japan;3. Tropical Biosphere Research Center, University of the Ryukyus, Nishihara 903-0213, Japan;4. Exploratory Research Center on Life and Living Systems (ExCELLS), National Institutes of Natural Sciences, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan;5. National Institute for Physiological Science, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan;6. Graduate School of Engineering and Science, University of the Ryukyus, Nishihara 903-0213, Japan;7. Department of Zoology, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan;1. Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, 130 Science Drive, Durham, NC 27708, USA;2. Biodiversity Institute and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA;1. Mace Brown Museum of Natural History, College of Charleston, SC, USA;2. Department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences, College of Charleston, SC, USA;3. University of California Museum of Paleontology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA;1. Directorate Earth and History of Life, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Rue Vautier 29, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium;2. Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Campus Box 90383, Durham, NC 27708-9976, USA;3. Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, P. O. Box 117800, Gainesville, FL 32611-7800, USA;4. Museum of Paleontology, Research Museum Center, University of Michigan, 3600 Varsity Drive, Ann Arbor MI 48108-2228, USA |
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| Abstract: | Ten isolated snake vertebrae from Landana and Sassa-Zao, Cabinda Exclave, Angola, present a “primitive” grade morphology with a weak lateral compression and do not belong to Palaeophis aff. typhaeus as originally referred to. They well belong to a single taxon and are here attributed to Palaeophis africanus for which the intracolumnar variation is described and illustrated. This species is Lutetian (middle Eocene) in age and originates from a marine coastal environment confirming again the aquatic capabilities of palaeophiid snakes. It represents the third largest species of Palaeophis with P. colossaeus and P. maghrebianus to which it is closely related in our tentative phylogenetic analysis, indicating that these three taxa could belong to an African clade. This study also contributes to the debate on the existence of primitive and advanced grades among palaeophiid snakes. Palaeophis presents laterally compressed anterior trunk vertebrae that could have been often erroneously considered as representing advanced grade species and potential parataxonomy. |
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| Keywords: | Serpentes Ophidia Palaeophiidae Vertebrae Eocene Landana Africa |
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