Palaeopheid snakes from the Late Eocene Hardie Mine local fauna of central Georgia

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2005

Publication Title

Southeastern Naturalist

Abstract

Palaeopheid snake fossils from the Late Eocene Hardie Mine local fauna (l.f.) of Wilkinson County, central Georgia, include Pterosphenus schucherti Lucas and Palaeophis africanus Andrews. This occurrence represents a new geographic record for P. africanus because this species was previously known only from the type locality in Nigeria. The Hardie Mine l.f. is the first North American Late Eocene fauna where Pterosphenus and Palaeophis co-occur in the same local stratigraphic context. The stratigraphic range of Palaeophis is extended from the Middle Eocene into the Late Eocene. The nearshore marine paleoenvironment of the Hardie Mine was inhabited by juvenile and adult palaeopheid snakes of both genera. Based on our specimens, Pterosphenus appears to have been more common than Palaeophis.

Department

Biological and Environmental Sciences

Volume Number

4

Issue Number

4

First Page

703

Last Page

722

DOI

10.1656/1528-7092(2005)004[0703:PSFTLE]2.0.CO;2

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