Micrurus gallicus is an extinct species of coral snake that lived in France and Germany from 20 to 11.1 million years ago. The remains of this snake consist of some vertebrae. The locality in which it was found was an MN 7 + 8 fissure fill in France called La Grive M, dating from the late Middle Miocene.[1][2][3]

Micrurus gallicus
Temporal range: 20–11.1 Ma
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Elapidae
Genus: Micrurus
Species:
M. gallicus
Binomial name
Micrurus gallicus
Ivanov & Böhme, 1984

Another fossil consisting of a single precaudal vertebra, attributed to Micrurus cf. gallicus, was found near Griesbeckerzell, a parish village in Aichach, Bavaria, Germany.[4] It lived with two species in the genus Naja, Naja romani and Naja depereti. It also likely lived with snakes of the genera Mionatrix of the family Colubridae and Palaeopython of the family Messelopythonidae.

References edit

  1. ^ "Fossilworks: Micrurus gallicus". www.fossilworks.org.
  2. ^ "Micrurus gallicus". Mindat.org.
  3. ^ Rage, Jean-Claude; Holman, J. Alan (January 1984). "Des serpents (Reptilia, Squamata) de type nord-américain dans le Miocène Français. Évolution parallèle ou dispersion?". Geobios (in French). 17 (1): 89–104. doi:10.1016/S0016-6995(84)80007-8.
  4. ^ Ivanov, Martin; Böhme, Madelaine (September 2011). "Snakes from Griesbeckerzell (Langhian, Early Badenian), North Alpine Foreland Basin (Germany), with comments on the evolution of snake faunas in Central Europe during the Miocene Climatic Optimum". Geodiversitas. 33 (3): 411–449. doi:10.5252/g2011n3a2. ISSN 1280-9659. S2CID 129645495.