Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia, 31() 1988
Two new extinct species of the genera Malpolon and Vipera (Reptilia, Serpentes) from the Pliocene of Layna (Spain)
Abstract:
Fossil material from the Middle Pliocene (MN 15) of Layna (Province of Soria, Spain) contains remains of at least 5 different snake taxa, belonging to the families Colubridae, Elapidae and Viperidae. Two of them, Malpolon mlynarskii sp. n. and Vipera maxima sp. n., dominant in the snake fauna, are described in detail. Malpolon mlynarskii sp. n. is regarded as a sister species of th e living M. monspessulanus. Vipera maxima sp. n. probably belongs to the ‘russelli ’ complex of the genus Vipera. The composition of the Layna assemblage demonstrates that the extant snake fauna appeared in the Iberian Peninsula later than the Middle Pliocene.
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