Madtsoia

Madtsoia
Temporal range: Maastrichtian–Eocene Possible Coniacian/Santonian and Late Oligocene records
Holotype of M. bai (AMNH 3154), American Museum of Natural History
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: †Madtsoiidae
Genus: †Madtsoia
Simpson, 1933
Species
  • M. bai Simpson, 1933 (type)
  • M. camposi Rage, 1998
  • M. madagascariensis Hoffstetter, 1961
  • M. pisdurensis Mohabey et al, 2011

Madtsoia is an extinct genus of madtsoiid snakes. It is known from the Eocene of Argentina (M. bai),[1] the Paleocene of Brazil (M. camposi),[2] the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of India (M. pisdurensis),[1] and the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of Madagascar (M. madagascariensis).[3] The type species (M. bai) was the largest with an estimated length of 9–10 m (30–33 ft),[4][5] and the other three species were smaller.[3][2][1] A 5.1 m (17 ft) long M. madagascariensis would have weighed 50 kg (110 lb), but an isolated specimen suggests that this species reached 8 m (26 ft) in maximum length.[3]

Madtsoia length estimates
Species Length
M. bai 9–10 m (30–33 ft)[4][5]
M. camposi 5–6 m (16–20 ft)[2]
M. madagascariensis 5.1–8 m (17–26 ft)[3]
M. pisdurensis 5 m (16 ft)[1]
  1. ^ a b c d Mohabey, D.M.; Head, J.J.; Wilson, J.A. (2011). "A new species of the snake Madtsoia from the Upper Cretaceous of India and its paleobiogeographic implications". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 31 (3): 588–595. Bibcode:2011JVPal..31..588M. doi:10.1080/02724634.2011.560220. S2CID 129792355.
  2. ^ a b c Rage, J.C. (1998). "Fossil snakes from the Paleocene of São José de Itaboraí, Brazil. Part II. Boidae". Palaeovertebrata. 27 (3–4): 109–144. S2CID 59450531.
  3. ^ a b c d Thomas C. Laduke; David W. Krause; John D. Scanlon; Nathan J. Kley (2010). "A Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) snake assemblage from the Maevarano Formation, Mahajanga Basin, Madagascar". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 30 (1): 109–138. Bibcode:2010JVPal..30..109L. doi:10.1080/02724630903409188.
  4. ^ a b Peter Wilf; N. Rubén Cúneo; Ignacio H. Escapa; Diego Pol; Michael O. Woodburne (2013). "Splendid and Seldom Isolated: The Paleobiogeography of Patagonia". Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences. 41: 561–603. Bibcode:2013AREPS..41..561W. doi:10.1146/annurev-earth-050212-124217. hdl:11336/5383.
  5. ^ a b Scanlon, John D. (2014). "3 – Giant terrestrial reptilian carnivores of Cenozoic Australia". In Glen, A.S.; Dickman, C.R. (eds.). Carnivores of Australia: Past, Present and Future. CSIRO Publishing. pp. 29–53. ISBN 9780643103108.