Fossil Snake Updates

[Diplotomodon]

OK, I would've gotten this up sooner, but there was the whole business trying to figure out how the new camera worked. Nevertheless, here are some photos of the fossil snake residing in my collection---which I understand is super-rare.

(Click on the pictures to enlarge)

Closeup of the head---had to get it cropped to near oblivion to fit it in the post, but here it is anyway:

The snake itself is approximately 25 cm long if you could stretch it out. I still sadly have no locality data because it was given to me as a gift. Any ideas?

Edited May 18, 2011 by Crimsonraptor

[piranha]

Great that you invested in a new camera Kevin. Can you attempt additional photos please? These are not at all adequate for evaluation. There should be a macro setting for close-ups and if you don't have a camera stand or tripod try steadying the camera body on a stable item like a chair back so a sharply focused images can be captured.

Thanks!

[CreekCrawler]

Cool ! Reminds me of our Coachwhip snake"Masticophis flagellum" here in the U.S do to the lengthy tail.

[Cris]

Very, very nice! And to think I was proud of my two associated vertebrae!

[siteseer]

Yes, we need close-ups of the skull and sections of the vertebrae from there to the tip of the tail. We also need them in good light so we get an accurate view of the actual color of the matrix. Three vertebrae appear to be a different color. Can you tell if that is a section of restoration. Depending on the prepper, those verts could range from almost the shape of the actual remains to nice casts of actual vertebrae or they might be even actual vertebrae naturally discolored by sun or water.

If you can see long or short venom-delivering fangs at the front of the upper jaw, it is probably at least Miocene in age because that is when the two families of venomous snakes are first known (rear-fanged snakes belong to another family). They appear in Europe in the Early Miocene but spread into North America by the beginning of the Pliocene. Non-venomous snakes are known at least to the Early Cretaceous.

Is it still possible to ask the gift-giver where it came from (the dealer)?

Complete snakes are known from very few sites. Specimens from Messel, Germany are generally prepped out of their originial matrix. I think at least one has come out of the Green River Formation (Early Eocene). There is a Pliocene site near Fernley, Nevada that produced a snake. Any site that produces complete freshwater fish skeletons could yield a snake as well. I'm not sure if anyone has ever found a snake at any of the Oligocene sites in France where Dapalis is found or one of those sites near Teruel, Spain where frogs are collected.

In any case, anyone with fossil snake skeleton might want to buy this book (or ask Santa):

http://www.amazon.com/Fossil-Snakes-North-America-Distribution/dp/0253337216/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305754122&sr=1-1

...and then look for this book:

http://www.pfeil-verlag.de/07pala/eh11.html

OK, I would've gotten this up sooner, but there was the whole business trying to figure out how the new camera worked. Nevertheless, here are some photos of the fossil snake residing in my collection---which I understand is super-rare.

(Click on the pictures to enlarge)

Closeup of the head---had to get it cropped to near oblivion to fit it in the post, but here it is anyway:

The snake itself is approximately 25 cm long if you could stretch it out. I still sadly have no locality data because it was given to me as a gift. Any ideas?