Laophis

Laophis
Temporal range: Pliocene
↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Reptilia
Order:Squamata
Suborder:Serpentes
Family:Viperidae
Genus:†Laophis
Species: †L. crotaloides
Binomial name
Laophis crotaloides
(Owen, 1857)

Laophis (From Ancient Greek, People's snake) is a genus of viperid snake currently containing one known species that lived during the Pliocene in Northern Greece.[1] Few fossil vertebrae of this species was found in Thessaloniki, Greece.[2] It reached a total length of 3–4 m (10–13 ft), making this perhaps the largest viper discovered yet.[1] Originally described by Sir Richard Owen, the original fossils had been lost, until rediscovery of a single vertebra was discovered somewhere near Thessaloniki in 2014.[3][4]

References

  1. 1 2 Georgios Georgalis (2014). "Rediscovery of Laophis crotaloides – the world's largest viper?". ResearchGate.
  2. ↑ Owen, R. (1857). "On the Fossil Vertebrae of a Serpent (Laophis crotaloides, Ow.) discovered by Capt. Spratt, R.N., in a Tertiary Formation at Salonica". Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society. 13: 196. doi:10.1144/GSL.JGS.1857.013.01-02.28.
  3. ↑ Pappas, Stephanie (2014). "Biggest Venomous Snake Ever Revealed in New Fossils". LiveScience.com.
  4. ↑ Benjamin P. Kear (2014). "Rediscovery of Laophis crotaloides – the worlds largest viper?". academia.edu.


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