Tetrapodophis

Tetrapodophis
Temporal range: Early Cretaceous, Latest Aptian, ~115–113 Ma
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Fossil in Bürgermeister-Müller-Museum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Clade: Toxicofera
Genus: †Tetrapodophis
Martill et al., 2015
Type species
†Tetrapodophis amplectus
Martill et al., 2015

Tetrapodophis (Greek meaning "four-footed snake") is an extinct genus of lizard from the Early Cretaceous (Aptian) aged Crato Formation of Brazil. It has an elongated snake-like body, with four disproportionately short limbs.

Tetrapodophis has been considered by some authors to be one of the oldest members of Ophidia; the taxonomic group which includes snakes and some of their closest extinct relatives.[1][2][3] However, this classification has been disputed by some other authors,[4][5][6] who identify Tetrapodophis as a dolichosaurid. The exact phylogenetic placement of Dolichosauridae is also disputed. Dolichosaurids could be related to Ophidia,[7][8] which would mean that Tetrapodophis is indeed related to snakes, albeit more distantly than previously thought. Alternatively, Dolichosaurids could be more closely related to Mosasaurs.[9]

  1. ^ David M. Martill; Helmut Tischlinger; Nicholas R. Longrich (2015). "A four-legged snake from the Early Cretaceous of Gondwana". Science. 349 (6246): 416–419. Bibcode:2015Sci...349..416M. doi:10.1126/science.aaa9208. PMID 26206932. S2CID 25822461.
  2. ^ Lee, Michael S. Y.; Palci, Alessandro; Jones, Marc E. H.; Caldwell, Michael W.; Holmes, James D.; Reisz, Robert R. (1 November 2016). "Aquatic adaptations in the four limbs of the snake-like reptile Tetrapodophis from the Lower Cretaceous of Brazil". Cretaceous Research. 66: 194–199. Bibcode:2016CrRes..66..194L. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2016.06.004. ISSN 0195-6671.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Michael W. Caldwell; Robert R. Reisz; Randall L. Nydam; Alessandro Palci; Tiago R. Simões (2016). "Tetrapodophis amplectus (Crato Formation, Lower Cretaceous, Brazil) is not a snake". Society of Vertebrate Paleontology 76th Annual Meeting Program & Abstracts: 108. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  5. ^ Paparella, Ilaria; Palci, Alessandro; Nicosia, Umberto; Caldwell, Michael W. (June 2018). "A new fossil marine lizard with soft tissues from the Late Cretaceous of southern Italy". Royal Society Open Science. 5 (6): 172411. Bibcode:2018RSOS....572411P. doi:10.1098/rsos.172411. ISSN 2054-5703. PMC 6030324. PMID 30110414.
  6. ^ Michael W. Caldwell; Tiago R. Simões; Alessandro Palci; Fernando F. Garberoglio; Robert R. Reisz; Michael S. Y. Lee; Randall L. Nydam (2021). "Tetrapodophis amplectus is not a snake: re-assessment of the osteology, phylogeny and functional morphology of an Early Cretaceous dolichosaurid lizard". Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, Latest Articles. 19 (13): 893–952. Bibcode:2021JSPal..19..893C. doi:10.1080/14772019.2021.1983044. S2CID 244414151.
  7. ^ Alessandro Palci; Michael W. Caldwell (2010a). "Redescription of Acteosaurus tommasinii von Meyer, 1860, and a discussion of evolutionary trends within the clade Ophidiomorpha". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 30 (1): 94–108. doi:10.1080/02724630903409139. S2CID 85217455.
  8. ^ Michael W. Caldwell; Alessandro Palci (2010b). "A new species of marine ophidiomorph lizard,Adriosaurus skrbinensis, from the Upper Cretaceous of Slovenia". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 30 (3): 747–755. doi:10.1080/02724631003762963. S2CID 85570665.
  9. ^ Augusta, Bruno G.; Zaher, Hussam; Polcyn, Michael J.; Fiorillo, Anthony R.; Jacobs, Louis L. (11 August 2022), Gower, David J.; Zaher, Hussam (eds.), "A Review of Non-Mosasaurid (Dolichosaur and Aigialosaur) Mosasaurians and Their Relationships to Snakes", The Origin and Early Evolutionary History of Snakes (1 ed.), Cambridge University Press, pp. 157–179, doi:10.1017/9781108938891.011, ISBN 978-1-108-93889-1