Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia, 31() 1988
The oldest known colubrid snakes. The state of the art
Abstract:
Colubrid snakes have undergone a very important diversification since the Miocene; they infrequently occur in ante-Miocene sediments. Snakes referred to the Colubridae were reported from the Eocene; they are reviewed and annotated. It is shown that these so-called eocene Colubridae are either non-colubrid snakes or non-eocene fossils (at least quite probably non-eocene). The oldest known unquestionable Colubridae are Coluber cadurci, Coluber atavus, both from the European Oligocene, Texasophis galbreathi from the North American Oligocene, and Natrix mlynarskii sp. n. that occurred in European ante-Miocene localities that are quite probably Oligocene.
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