Elaphe praelongissima

Elaphe praelongissima
Temporal range:
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Elaphe
Species:
E. praelongissima
Binomial name
Elaphe praelongissima
Venczel, 1994

Elaphe praelongissima is an extinct species of colubrid snake in the genus Elaphe that lived in Eurasia during the Late Miocene subepoch of the Neogene period.

Distribution

Fossils of E. praelongissima are known from Hungary.[1][2][3] Remains bearing a very high affinity to the species but not able to be diagnosed to the specific level are also known from China.[4]

Description

E. praelongissima is diagnosed by its short Vidian canals, its basiparasphenoid possessing a small frontal step, and its suborbital flanges being reduced. Its vertebrae have vaulted neural arches, concave or notched zygosphenes, short centra, and obtuse prezygapophyseal processes.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b Venczel, Márton (15 December 1994). "Late Miocene snakes (Reptilia: Serpentes) from Polgárdi (Hungary)" (PDF). Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia. 37 (1): 1–29. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  2. ^ Venczel, Márton (1998). "Late Miocene snakes (Reptilia: Serpentes) from Polgárdi (Hungary): a second contribution". Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia (1956 - 2004). 41: 1–22. ISSN 0065-1710. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
  3. ^ Čerňanský, Andrej (8 August 2011). "New finds of the Neogene lizard and snake fauna (Squamata: Lacertilia; Serpentes) from the Slovak Republic". Biologia. 66 (5): 899–911. doi:10.2478/s11756-011-0098-y. ISSN 0006-3088. Retrieved 8 March 2026 – via Springer Nature Link.
  4. ^ Mead, Jim I.; Moscato, David; Schubert, Blaine W.; Jin, Changzhu; Wei, Guangbiao; Sun, Chengkai; Zheng, Longting (17 February 2016). "Early Pleistocene snake (Squamata, Reptilia) skeleton from Renzidong Cave, Anhui, China". Historical Biology. 28 (1–2): 208–214. doi:10.1080/08912963.2015.1023719. ISSN 0891-2963. Retrieved 8 March 2026 – via Taylor and Francis Online.