Madtsoia

Madtsoia
Temporal range: Possible Coniacian/Santonian and Late Oligocene records
Reconstructed skull of M. bai
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: †Madtsoiidae
Genus: †Madtsoia
Simpson, 1933
Species
  • M. bai Simpson, 1933 (type)
  • M. camposi Rage, 1998
  • M. madagascariensis Hoffstetter, 1961
  • M. pisdurensis Mohabey et al, 2011

Madtsoia is an extinct genus of madtsoiid snakes. It is known from the Eocene of Argentina (M. bai),[1] the Paleocene of Brazil (M. camposi),[2] the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of India (M. pisdurensis),[1] and the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of Madagascar (M. madagascariensis).[3] The type species (M. bai) was the largest with an estimated length of 9–10 m (30–33 ft),[4][5] and the other three species were smaller.[3][2][1] A 5.1 m (17 ft) long M. madagascariensis would have weighed 50 kg (110 lb), but an isolated specimen suggests that this species reached 8 m (26 ft) in maximum length.[3] Juvenile Madtsoia madagascariensis may have eaten a wide array of small vertebrates, while adults likely ate a narrower range of larger taxa. Possible prey for adult M. madagascariensis would have included medium-sized crocodyliforms (e.g., adult Simosuchus clarki, subadult Mahajangasuchus insignis) as well as small theropod dinosaurs (e.g., adult Masiakasaurus knopfleri, subadult Majungasaurus crenatissimus), though such large prey would have caused injuries for the snake. In the Sarmiento Formation of Argentina, Madtsoia would have frequently eaten the more varied and abundant mammals of larger size.[6] Madtsoia likely killed its prey by constriction.[7]

Madtsoia length estimates
Species Length
M. bai 9–10 m (30–33 ft)[4][5]
M. camposi 5–6 m (16–20 ft)[2]
M. madagascariensis 5.1–8 m (17–26 ft)[3]
M. pisdurensis 5 m (16 ft)[1]

Distribution

Fossils of Madtsoia have been found in:[8]

Coniacian
Campanian
Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian)
Eocene

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Mohabey, D.M.; Head, J.J.; Wilson, J.A. (2011). "A new species of the snake Madtsoia from the Upper Cretaceous of India and its paleobiogeographic implications". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 31 (3): 588–595. Bibcode:2011JVPal..31..588M. doi:10.1080/02724634.2011.560220. S2CID 129792355.
  2. ^ a b c Rage, J.C. (1998). "Fossil snakes from the Paleocene of São José de Itaboraí, Brazil. Part II. Boidae". Palaeovertebrata. 27 (3–4): 109–144. S2CID 59450531.
  3. ^ a b c d e Thomas C. Laduke; David W. Krause; John D. Scanlon; Nathan J. Kley (2010). "A Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) snake assemblage from the Maevarano Formation, Mahajanga Basin, Madagascar". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 30 (1): 109–138. Bibcode:2010JVPal..30..109L. doi:10.1080/02724630903409188.
  4. ^ a b Peter Wilf; N. Rubén Cúneo; Ignacio H. Escapa; Diego Pol; Michael O. Woodburne (2013). "Splendid and Seldom Isolated: The Paleobiogeography of Patagonia". Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences. 41: 561–603. Bibcode:2013AREPS..41..561W. doi:10.1146/annurev-earth-050212-124217. hdl:11336/5383.
  5. ^ a b Scanlon, John D. (2014). "3 – Giant terrestrial reptilian carnivores of Cenozoic Australia". In Glen, A.S.; Dickman, C.R. (eds.). Carnivores of Australia: Past, Present and Future. CSIRO Publishing. pp. 29–53. ISBN 9780643103108.
  6. ^ Adriana M. Albino (2011). "Evolution of Squamata Reptiles in Patagonia based on the fossil record". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 103 (2): 441–457. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8315.2011.01691.x.
  7. ^ Laduke, T.C.; Krause, D.W.; Scanlon, J.D. & Kley, N.J. (2010). "A Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) snake assemblage from the Maevarano Formation, Mahajunga Basin, Madagascar". Journal of Paleontology. 10 (1): 109–138. Bibcode:2010JVPal..30..109L. doi:10.1080/02724630903409188.
  8. ^ Madtsoia at Fossilworks.org
  9. ^ "Iraganaren berri". zientzia.eus (in Basque). 1 June 2007. Retrieved 23 November 2017.

Further reading

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