{{Short description|Genus of extinct squamates}} {{Speciesbox | fossil_range = Late Jurassic, {{fossilrange|Kimmeridgian|Kimmeridgian|Kimmeridgian}} | image = | image_caption = | display_parents = 5 | genus = Portugalophis | parent_authority = Caldwell et al., 2015 | species = lignites | authority = Caldwell et al., 2015 }}
'''''Portugalophis''''' ({{lit|Portugal snake}}) is an extinct genus of squamate reptiles, known from coal beds in Portugal dated to the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian age). The genus contains a single species, '''''Portugalophis lignites''''', known from two maxillae and a dentary. When it was first described in 2015, ''Portugalophis'' was identified as part of the snake stem-group.<ref name="Caldwell2015">{{Cite journal |last1=Caldwell |first1=Michael W. |last2=Nydam |first2=Randall L. |last3=Palci |first3=Alessandro |last4=Apesteguía |first4=Sebastián |date=2015-01-27 |title=The oldest known snakes from the Middle Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous provide insights on snake evolution |journal=Nature Communications |language=en |volume=6 |issue=1 |article-number=5996 |doi=10.1038/ncomms6996 |pmid=25625704 |bibcode=2015NatCo...6.5996C |issn=2041-1723|doi-access=free |hdl=11336/37995 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> However, later research has provided a more nuanced interpretation; as a member of the enigmatic family Parviraptoridae, it was characterized by an unusual set conflicting anatomical traits comparable in some ways to snakes and varanids within the Toxicofera, while also bearing several characters unlike all modern squamate groups.<ref name="Breugnathair">{{Cite journal |last1=Benson |first1=Roger B. J. |last2=Walsh |first2=Stig A. |last3=Griffiths |first3=Elizabeth F. |last4=Kulik |first4=Zoe T. |last5=Botha |first5=Jennifer |last6=Fernandez |first6=Vincent |last7=Head |first7=Jason J. |last8=Evans |first8=Susan E. |date=October 1, 2025 |title=Mosaic anatomy in an early fossil squamate |journal=Nature |language=en |doi=10.1038/s41586-025-09566-y |pmid=41034584 |issn=0028-0836 |doi-access=free|pmc=12629976 }}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{Lepidosauromorpha|L.}} {{Extinct squamates|O.}} {{Taxonbar|from1=Q136417069|from2=Q75760963}}
Category:Parviraptoridae Category:Fossil taxa described in 2015 Category:Late Jurassic reptiles of Europe Category:Kimmeridgian genera Category:Fossils of Portugal Category:Jurassic Portugal Category:Prehistoric reptile genera