Archaeophis
Extinct genus of snakes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Archaeophis proavus is an extinct species of marine palaeophiid snake from the Eocene of Monte Bolca, Italy. It had the highest vertebral count known among snakes, with 565 vertebrae.[1]
| Archaeophis Temporal range: Eocene | |
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | †Palaeophiidae |
| Genus: | †Archaeophis Massalongo, 1859 |
| Species: | †A. proavus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Archaeophis proavus Massalongo, 1859 | |
Massalongo [2] also described a second species in the genus, A. bolcensis, but this was subsequently placed in the new genus Anomalophis.[3] Another species, A. turkmenicus from Turkmenistan, is also thought to most likely belong to a distinct, currently undescribed genus.[4]
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