A find from the Ladakh Himalaya reveals a survival of madtsoiid snakes (Serpentes, Madtsoiidae) in India through the late Oligocene

Wazir, Wasim Abass; Sehgal, Ramesh Kumar; Čerňanský, Andrej; Patnaik, Rajeev; Kumar, Navin; Singh, Abhishek Pratap; Uniyal, Piyush; Singh, Ningthoujam Premjit

doi:10.1080/02724634.2021.2058401

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…At least 24 species in 15 genera have been described as belonging to this clade, with a widespread but mainly Gondwanan distribution (LaDuke et al, 2010; Rage et al, 2014; Rio and Mannion, 2017; Gómez et al, 2019). They are recorded after the Eocene only in Australia, Argentina, and India (Scanlon, 2004; Albino and Brizuela, 2014; Wasim et al, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Madtsoiids are tentatively known from Paleocene deposits in South America from a possible specimen from Bolivia (Rage, 1991), but are well represented from Eocene deposits, with two species being currently described: Madtsoia bai Simpson, 1933 from Patagonia, Argentina and Madtsoia camposi Rage, 1998 from Brazil. A vertebral centrum tentatively referred to the genus Madtsoia from the Oligocene of Patagonia represents the youngest record of madtsoiids outside Australia and India (Albino and Brizuela, 2014; Wasim et al, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A new madtsoiid snake from the Paleogene of South America (northwestern Argentina), based on an articulated postcranial skeleton

Garberoglio

Triviño

Albino

2022

Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology

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The Madtsoiidae are an extinct lineage of snakes known from the Late Cretaceous to the Late Pleistocene, with a rich fossil record distributed mainly across Gondwanan landmasses. However, only a few taxa are represented by cranial or articulated remains, and most madtsoiids are known only by isolated vertebrae. The unambiguous record of Madtsoiidae from the Cenozoic in South America had been restricted to the genus Madtsoia from Eocene and Oligocene deposits of Patagonia and Brazil. Here, we describe a new madtsoiid taxon, Powellophis andina gen. et sp. nov., based on an articulated postcranial skeleton from the Mealla Formation (middle-late Paleocene) in northwestern Argentina. The new taxon is estimated to be around 3 meters long, with a vertebral morphology sharing similar features with other midto-large forms. Its inclusion in a recent analysis of madtsoiid relationships recovers Powellophis as an early member of a clade formed by mostly large bodied and gigantic taxa. Its presence in the Paleocene of northwestern Argentina fills the gap between the diverse Late Cretaceous and Eocene-Oligocene records of madtsoiids in South America, confirms their presence in northern Gondwana by the early Paleogene, and expands the diversity of the group. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:65174FD6-2827-44E0-A7D4-E0EE1404F4A6 SUPPLEMENTAL DATA-Supplemental materials are available for this article for free at www.tandfonline.com/UJVP.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A new madtsoiid snake from the Paleogene of South America (northwestern Argentina), based on an articulated postcranial skeleton

Garberoglio

Triviño

Albino

2022

Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology

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“…The latter also yielded the large madtsoiid Platyspondylophis 21 . The Eocene and Late Oligocene records include indeterminate taxa from Kutch and Ladakh, respectively 14,22 . Here we report the discovery of a giant madtsoiid snake, one of largest snakes ever reported, from an interval corresponding to a warm Middle Eocene period (~ 47 Ma) of India.…”

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Largest known madtsoiid snake from warm Eocene period of India suggests intercontinental Gondwana dispersal

Datta,

Bajpai

2024

Sci Rep

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Here we report the discovery of fossils representing partial vertebral column of a giant madtsoiid snake from an early Middle Eocene (Lutetian, ~ 47 Ma) lignite-bearing succession in Kutch, western India. The estimated body length of ~ 11–15 m makes this new taxon (Vasuki indicus gen et sp. nov.) the largest known madtsoiid snake, which thrived during a warm geological interval with average temperatures estimated at ~ 28 °C. Phylogenetically, Vasuki forms a distinct clade with the Indian Late Cretaceous taxon Madtsoia pisdurensis and the North African Late Eocene Gigantophis garstini. Biogeographic considerations, seen in conjunction with its inter-relationship with other Indian and North African madtsoiids, suggest that Vasuki represents a relic lineage that originated in India. Subsequent India-Asia collision at ~ 50 Ma led to intercontinental dispersal of this lineage from the subcontinent into North Africa through southern Eurasia.

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Neogene continental faunas of India: recent advances

Patnaik

2024

Proc.Indian Natl. Sci. Acad.

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A find from the Ladakh Himalaya reveals a survival of madtsoiid snakes (Serpentes, Madtsoiidae) in India through the late Oligocene

Cited by 4 publications

References 21 publications

A new madtsoiid snake from the Paleogene of South America (northwestern Argentina), based on an articulated postcranial skeleton

A new madtsoiid snake from the Paleogene of South America (northwestern Argentina), based on an articulated postcranial skeleton

Largest known madtsoiid snake from warm Eocene period of India suggests intercontinental Gondwana dispersal

Neogene continental faunas of India: recent advances

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