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Lapparentophiidae

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Lapparentophiidae
Temporal range: Early-Late Cretaceous, ?Albian–Cenomanian
MHNM.KK387, the holotype of Lapparentophis ragei
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Clade: Ophidia
Family: Lapparentophiidae
Hoffstetter, 1959
Genera

Lapparentophiidae (meaning "Lapparent's snakes") are an extinct family of basal terrestrial ophidians known from Early-Late Cretaceous (?Albian-Cenomanian)-aged fossil remains discovered in Algeria, France, Morocco and Sudan.[1] Two genera are known: the type species, Lapparentophis[1][2] and the poorly represented genus Pouitella.[3]

They were initially believed to have been snakes, but later studied have found Lapparentophiidae to fall under Ophidia,[1] the clade which Serpentes also belongs to.

References

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  1. ^ a b c Romain Vullo (2019). "A new species of Lapparentophis from the mid-Cretaceous Kem Kem beds, Morocco, with remarks on the distribution of lapparentophiid snakes" (PDF). Comptes Rendus Palevol. 18 (7): 765–770. doi:10.1016/j.crpv.2019.08.004. S2CID 210297438.
  2. ^ Hoffstetter, R. (1959). A terrestrial snake in the Lower Cretaceous of the Sahara [in French]. Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France, 7e série 1:897-902
  3. ^ Rage, J-C. (1988). A primitive snake in the Cenomanian. [in French] C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Sér. II. 307, 1027-1032