Palaeophiidae

{{Short description|Extinct family of snakes}} {{Automatic taxobox | fossil_range = Late Cretaceous-Late Eocene ~{{fossil range|70.6|33.9}} | image = Palaeophiidae - Palaeophis maghrebianus.JPG | image_caption = Fossil vertebrae of ''Palaeophis maghrebianus'' from Khouribga (Morocco) | taxon = Palaeophiidae | authority = Lydekker 1888 }}

'''Palaeophiidae''' is an extinct family of marine snake within the infraorder Alethinophidia.

Species within this family lived from the Late Cretaceous to the Late Eocene, approximately from 70.6 to 33.9 million years ago.<ref name=aa>[https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=65167 Palaeophiidae] at Fossilworks.org</ref> Phylogenetic analysis has proposed them as being related to the extant file snakes (family Acrochordidae),<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Snetkov |first=P. B. |date=2011-06-14 |title=Vertebrae of the sea snake Palaeophis nessovi Averianov (Acrochordoidea, Palaeophiidae) from the Eocene of western Kazakhstan and phylogenetic analysis of the superfamily Acrochordoidea |journal=Paleontological Journal |language=en |volume=45 |issue=3 |pages=305–313 |doi=10.1134/S0031030111030129 |bibcode=2011PalJ...45..305S |issn=1555-6174 |s2cid=84595216}}</ref> although these results have been disputed since,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Houssaye |first1=Alexandra |last2=Rage |first2=Jean-Claude |last3=Bardet |first3=Nathalie |last4=Vincent |first4=Peggy |last5=Amaghzaz |first5=Mbarek |last6=Meslouh |first6=Said |date=2013 |title=New highlights about the enigmatic marine snake Palaeophis maghrebianus (Palaeophiidae; Palaeophiinae) from the Ypresian (Lower Eocene) phosphates of Morocco: NEW HIGHLIGHTS ABOUT PALAEOPHIS MAGHREBIANUS |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/pala.12008 |journal=Palaeontology |language=en |volume=56 |issue=3 |pages=647–661 |doi=10.1111/pala.12008|url-access=subscription }}</ref> and new analysis show this relationship as poorly supported.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Folie |first1=Annelise |last2=Mees |first2=Florias |last3=De Putter |first3=Thierry |last4=Smith |first4=Thierry |last5=Garberoglio, F. F., Gómez, R. O., & Caldwell, M. W. |date=2021-07-01 |title=Presence of the large aquatic snake Palaeophis africanus in the middle Eocene marine margin of the Congo Basin, Cabinda, Angola |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016699520300954 |journal=Geobios |series=Proceedings of the PalEurAfrica project international symposium Evolution and Paleoenvironment of Early Modern Vertebrates during the Paleogene |language=en |volume=66-67 |pages=45–54 |doi=10.1016/j.geobios.2020.11.002 |bibcode=2021Geobi..66...45F |issn=0016-6995|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Fossil records provide evidence suggesting Paleophiidae are among the largest snakes to ever exist.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Garberoglio |first1=Fernando F. |last2=Gomez |first2=Raúl O. |last3=and Caldwell |first3=Michael W. |date=2023-07-04 |title=New record of aquatic snakes (Squamata, Palaeophiidae) from the Paleocene of South America |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02724634.2024.2305892 |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=43 |issue=4 |article-number=e2305892 |doi=10.1080/02724634.2024.2305892 |issn=0272-4634 |via=BioOne|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

== Subfamilies and genera == * Archaeophiinae Rage et al. 2003 ** ''†Archaeophis'' Massalongo 1859 * Palaeophiinae Lydekker, 1888 ** ''†Palaeophis'' Owen 1841 ** ''†Pterosphenus'' Lucas 1898

== References == {{commons category}} {{Reflist}}{{Fossil snakes}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q18619797}}

Category:Prehistoric snakes † Category:Cretaceous first appearances Category:Eocene extinctions Category:Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary Category:Taxa named by Richard Lydekker