Madtsoiidae

Madtsoiidae Temporal range: Early Cenomanian-Late Pleistocene ~98–0.012 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Fossil specimen of Madtsoia bai
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Clade:	Ophidia
Family:	†Madtsoiidae Hoffstetter, 1961
Genera
†Adinophis †Alamitophis †Eomadtsoia †Gigantophis †Herensugea †Madtsoia †Menarana †Nanowana †Nidophis †Patagoniophis †Platyspondylophis †Powellophis †Rionegrophis †Sanajeh †Vasuki †Wonambi †Yurlunggur

Madtsoiidae is an extinct family of mostly Gondwanan snakes with a fossil record extending from early Cenomanian (Upper Cretaceous) to late Pleistocene strata located in South America, Africa, India, Australia and Southern Europe. Madtsoiidae include very primitive snakes, which like extant boas and pythons would likely dispatch their prey by constriction. Genera include some of the longest snakes known such as Vasuki, measuring at least 11–15 metres (36–49 ft) long, and the Australian Wonambi and Yurlunggur.^[1] As a grouping of basal forms the composition and even the validity of Madtsoiidae is in a state of flux as new pertinent finds are described, with more recent evidence suggesting that it is paraphyletic as previously defined.^[2]

Although madtsoiids persisted on Australia until the Pleistocene, they largely went extinct elsewhere during the Eocene. However, some species persisted in South America and India through the Oligocene.^[3]