Eryx jaculus (Daudin, 1803)

Ma‛ayan Lev, Dani Nadel, Mina Weinstein-Evron & Reuven Yeshurun, 2022, Squamates and amphibians from the Natufian cemetery of Raqefet Cave, Israel: taphonomy, paleoenvironments and paleoclimate, An International Journal of Paleobiology 34 (12), pp. 2394-2414 : 2404

Eryx jaculus (Daudin, 1803)

The Javeline Sand Boa was identified by two trunk vertebrae ( Figure 6 (a)). Both vertebrae are short and small (maximum centrum length <3 mm). The cotyle and condyle are oval and slightly flattened dorsoventrally. In the dorsal view, the vertebra is wider than long, and the interzygapophyseal constriction is strong. The neural spine extends just posterior to the zygosphene. The zygosphene is wide and only slightly concave anteriorly. The prezygapophyseal articular facets are oval. In ventral view, the centrum is short, wide and convex. The haemal keel is wide, with weakly defined lateral margins, and it extends from the ventral end of the cotyle to the condyle. Due to the state of vertebrae preservation, the diapophysis and parapophysis are broken. In anterior view, the prezygapophyses are short, pointed and dorsolaterally tilted. The neural canal is wide; the anterior margins of the pedicels are concave. The zygosphene is wide and is concave anteriorly. In posterior view, the neural canal is wide, the neural arch is round and its posterior edge is U-shaped. The postzygapophyses are dorsally tilted. In lateral view, the neural spin starts to rise dorsally at the anterior edge, however it is too broken for further description.

The species inhabits the Mediterranean region, semi-arid/arid habitats of the northern Negev and was also documented in the mountain open forest of Mount Hermon; however, it is most common in the Mediterranean and semi-arid/arid alluvial valleys and the coastal plain (supplementary Figure S2 (e)). This species is not well documented in the Epipaleolithic sites of Israel but was found in EWT ( Lev et al. 2020).

Figures

Figure 2. Plan of Raqefet Cave (a) provenance of the faunal samples, with the different contexts presented in this study labelled in red (b).

Figure 6. Snake bones from Raqefet Cave. Eryx jaculus (a) trunk vertebra, dorsal, ventral, anterior, posterior and lateral views; Hemorrhois nummifer (b) trunk vertebra, dorsal, ventral,anterior,posterior and lateral views; Dolichophis jugularis (c) trunk vertebra dorsal,ventral, anterior, posterior and lateral views; Malpolon insignitus (d) trunk vertebra dorsal, ventral, anterior, posterior and lateral views; Daboia cf. palaestinae (e) vertebra dorsal, ventral, anterior, posterior and lateral views.