Pterosphenus sp.

Rage, Jean-Claude, Folie, Annelise, Rana, Rajendra S., Singh, Hukam, Rose, Kenneth D. & Smith, Thierry, 2008, A diverse snake fauna from the early Eocene of Vastan Lignite Mine, Gujarat, India, Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 53 (3), pp. 391-403 : 394

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.4202/app.2008.0303

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03C0B830-5E5F-FFD0-8A27-6A02FF03FB3F

treatment provided by

Felipe

scientific name

Pterosphenus sp.
status

 

Pterosphenus sp.

Fig. 2C View Fig .

Material.—One trunk vertebra (VAS 1009) from the continental beds of the early Eocene Cambay Formation, Vastan Lignite Mine, Gujarat, India.

Description and comparisons.—A single, poorly preserved vertebra represents Pterosphenus . It is strongly compressed laterally. The zygosphenal roof is arched dorsally and the top of the anterior border of the zygosphene forms the base of the anterior border of the neural spine. This feature characterizes Pterosphenus (except most vertebrae of Pt. kutchensis Rage, Bajpai, Thewissen, and Tiwari, 2003 ) and is unknown in Palaeophis ( Rage 1983) . The paradiapophyses of this vertebra are markedly separated from each other, which demonstrates that it cannot be referred to Pt. kutchensis (early Eocene of India) in which paradiapophyses originate from a common base ( Rage et al. 2003). This specimen does not provide other information at species level; it is referred to as Pterosphenus sp. The fossil from Vastan Mine may be the earliest representative of the genus.

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