Emended diagnosis and phylogenetic relationships of the Upper Cretaceous fossil snake Najash rionegrina Apesteguía and Zaher, 2006

Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology

Volumn 33, Issue 1, 2013, Pages 131-140

  Palci, Alessandro ^a   Caldwell, Michael W ^a   Albino, Adriana M ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA   (Canada)

^b UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE MAR DEL PLATA   (Argentina)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ANATOMY; CENOMANIAN-TURONIAN BOUNDARY; FOSSIL RECORD; PHYLOGENETICS; SNAKE;

ALETHINOPHIDIA; EUPODOPHIS; MADTSOIIDAE; PACHYRHACHIS; SERPENTES;

EID: 84872586085     PISSN: 02724634     EISSN: 19372809     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/02724634.2012.713415     Document Type: Article

References (118)

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2. Albino, A. M., and M. W. Caldwell. 2003. H́abitos de vida de la serpiente cret ́acica Dinilysia patagonica Woodward. Ameghiana 40:407-414 (Pubitemid 37546364)
3. Apestegu'ia, S., and H. A. Zaher. 2006. A Cretaceous terrestrial snake with robust hindlimbs and a sacrum. Nature 440:1037-1040
4. Apestegu'ia, S., P. J. Makovicky, L. Gaetano, N. Smith, G. W. Rougier. In press. Cerro Bandera: Una nueva localidad con micro y mesovertebrados limayenses en R'io Negro y la distribuci ́on de la fauna de 'La Buitrera'. XXIII Jornadas Argentinas de Paleontolog'ia de Vertebrados. Ameghiniana
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7. Budney, L. A., M. W. Caldwell, and A. Albino. 2006. Unexpected tooth socket histology in the Cretaceous snake Dinilysia with a review of amniote dental attachment tissues. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 26:138-145 (Pubitemid 43676140)
8. Caldwell, M. W. 2007. Snake phylogeny, origins, and evolution: The role, impact, and importance of fossils (1869-2006); pp. 253-302 in J. S. Anderson and H.-D. Sues (eds.), Major Transitions in Vertebrate Evolution. Indiana University Press, Bloomington and Indianapolis, Indiana
9. Caldwell, M. W., and A. Albino. 2002. Exceptionally preserved skeletons of the Cretaceous snake Dinilysia patagonica,Woodward, 1901 Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 22:861-866 (Pubitemid 44550818)
10. Caldwell, M. W., and J. Calvo. 2008. Details of a new skull and articulated cervical column of Dinilysia patagonica Woodward, 1901. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 28:349-362 (Pubitemid 351983299)
11. Carpenter, C. C., J. B. Murphy, and L. A. Mitchell. 1978. Combat bouts with spur use in the Madagascan boa (Sanzinia madagascariensis). Herpetologica 34:207-212
12. Conrad, J. L. 2008. Phylogeny and systematics of Squamata (Reptilia based on morphology. Bulletin of the AmericanMuseum of Natural History 310:1-182
13. Cope, E. D. 1869. On the reptilian orders Pythonomorpha and Streptosauria. Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History 12:250-261
14. Estes, R., T. H. Frazzetta, and E. E. Williams. 1970. Studies on the fossil snake Dinilysia patagonica Woodward: Part 1. Cranial morphology. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 140:25-74
15. Estes, R., K. de Quieroz, and J. Gauthier. 1988. Phylogenetic relationships within Squamata; pp. 119-281 in R. Estes and G. Pregill (eds.), Phylogenetic Relationships of the Lizard Families. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California
16. Felsenstein, J. 1983. Statistical inference of phylogenies. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series A 146:246-272
17. Felsenstein, J. 1985. Confidence limits on phylogenies: An approach using the bootstrap. Evolution 39:783-791
18. Fitch, W. M. 1971. Toward defining the course of evolution: Minimal change for a specific tree topology. Systematic Zoology 20: 406-416
19. Frazzetta, T.H. 1966. Studies on themorphology and function of the skull in the Boidae (Serpentes). Part II: Morphology and function of the jaw apparatus in Python sebae and Python molurus. Journal ofMorphology 118:217-296
20. Gardner, J., and R. Cifelli. 1999. A primitive snake from the Cretaceous of Utah. Special Papers in Palaeontology 60:87-100
21. Gauthier, J. A., M. Kearney, J. A. Maisano, O. Rieppel, and A. D. B. Behlke. 2012. Assembling the squamate tree of life: Perspectives from the phenotype and the fossil record. Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History 53:3-308
22. Greene, H. W. 1997. Snakes: The Evolution of Mystery in Nature. University of California Press, Berkeley, California, 351
23. Greer, A. E. 1985. The relationships of the lizard genera Anelytropsis and Dibamus. Journal of Herpetology 19:116-156
24. Haas, G. 1979. On a new snakelike reptile from the Lower Cenomanian of Ein Jabrud, near Jerusalem. Bulletin du Mus'eum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, Series 4 1:51-64
25. Hall, B. K. 2003. Descent with modification: The unity underlying homology and homoplasy as seen through an analysis of development and evolution. Biological Review 78:409-433 (Pubitemid 37193393)
26. Hillis, D. M., and J. J. Bull. 1993. An empirical test of bootstrapping as a method for assessing confidence in phylogenetic analyses. Systematic Biology 42:182-192
27. Houssaye, A., F. Xu, L. Helfen, V. De Buffr'éenil, T. Baumbach, and P. Tafforeau. 2011. Three-dimensional pelvis and limb anatomy of the Cenomanian hind-limbed snake Eupodophis descouensi (Squamata, Ophidia) revealed by synchrotron-radiation computed laminography. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 31:2-7
28. Lee, M. S. Y. 1997. The phylogeny of varanoid lizards and the affinities of snakes. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B 352:53-91 (Pubitemid 127738814)
29. Lee, M. S. Y. 1998. Convergent evolution and character correlation in burrowing reptiles: Towards a resolution of squamate relationships. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 65:369-453 (Pubitemid 29032382)
30. Lee, M. S. Y. 2005. Squamate phylogeny, taxon sampling, and data congruence. Organisms, Diversity and Evolution 5:25-45 (Pubitemid 40451700)
31. Lee, M. S. Y. 2009. Hidden support from unpromising data sets strongly unites snakes with anguimorph 'lizards.' Journal of Evolutionary Biology 22:1308-1316
32. Lee, M. S. Y., and M. W. Caldwell. 1998. Anatomy and relationships of Pachyrhachis, a primitive snake with hindlimbs. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B 353:1521-1552
33. Lee, M. S. Y., and M. W. Caldwell. 2000. Adriosaurus and the affinities of mosasaurs, dolichosaurs, and snakes. Journal of Paleontology 74:915-937
34. Lee, M. S. Y., and J. D. Scanlon. 2002. Snake phylogeny based on osteology, soft anatomy and ecology. Biological Reviews 77: 333-401 (Pubitemid 34976480)
35. Lee, M. S. Y., M. W. Caldwell, and J. D. Scanlon. 1999. A second primitive marine snake: Pachyophis woodwardi from the Cretaceous of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Journal of Zoology 248:509-520 (Pubitemid 29365575)
36. Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Editio decima, reformata. Laurentius Salvius Holmiae, Stockholm, ii+824
37. Maschio, G. F., A. L. C. Prudente, F. S. Rodriguez, andM. S. Hoogmoed. 2010. Food habits of Anilius scytale (Serpentes: Aniliidae) in the Brazilian Amazonia. Zoologia 27:184-190
38. McDowell, S. B. 1975. A catalogue of the snakes of New Guinea and the Solomons, with special reference to those in the Bernice P. Bishop Museum. Part II. Anilioidea and Pythoninae. Journal of Herpetology 9:1-79
39. Nopcsa, F. B. 1923. Eidolosaurus und Pachyophis. Zwei neue Neocom- Reptilien. Palaeontographica 65:99-154
40. O'Shea, M. 2007. Boas and Pythons of the World. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, and Oxford, U.K., 165
41. Oppel, M. 1811. Die Ordnungen, Familien, und Gattungen der Reptilien als prodrom einer naturgeschichte derselben. Akademie der Wissenschaften, Munich, 88
42. Rage, J.-C. 1982. La phylogenie des Lepidosauriens (Reptilia): Une approche cladistique. Comptes Rendus de l'Academie des Sciences 294:563-566
43. Rage, J.-C., and F. Escuilli ́e. 2000. Un nouveau serpent bipède du C'enomanien (Cr'etaće). Implications phylètiques. Comptes Rendus de l'Academie des Sciences 330:513-520 (Pubitemid 30322543)
44. Rage, J.-C., and F. Escuilli ́e. 2003. The Cenomanian: Stage of hindlimbed snakes. Carnets de G'eologie (Notebooks on Geology) 1:1-11
45. Rieppel, O., and J. J. Head. 2004. New specimens of the fossil snake genus Eupodophis Rage and Escuilli ́e, from the Cenomanian (Late Cretaceous of Lebanon. Memorie della Societì Italiana di Scienze Naturali e del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano 32:1-26
46. Rieppel, O., H. Zaher, E. Tchernov, and M. J. Polcyn. 2003. The anatomy and relationships of Haasiophis terrasanctus, a fossil snake with well developed hind limbs from the mid-Cretaceous of the Middle East. Journal of Paleontology 77:536-558 (Pubitemid 36689264)
47. Rogers, R. R., D. A. Eberth, and A. R. Fiorillo (eds.). 2007. Bonebeds: Genesis, Analysis, and Paleobiological Significance. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois, and London, U.K., 499
48. Romer, A. S. 1956. Osteology of the Reptiles. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois, 772
49. Sankey, J. T., and S. Baszio (eds.). 2008. Vertebrate Microfossil Assemblages: Their Role in Paleoecology and Paleobiogeography. Indiana University Press, Bloomington, Indiana, 278
50. Smith-Woodward, A. 1901. On some extinct reptiles from Patagonia of the genera Miolania,Dinilysia, and Genyodectes. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1901:169-184
51. Swofford, D. L. 2002. PAUP: Phylogenetic Analysis Using Parsimony, Version 4.0b10. Sinauer, Sunderland, Massachusetts
52. Tchernov, E., O. Rieppel, H. Zaher, M. Polcyn, and L. L. Jacobs. 2000. A fossil snake with limbs. Science 287:2010-2012 (Pubitemid 30158676)
53. Townsend, T., A. Larson, E. J. Louis, and J. R. Macey. 2004. Molecular phylogenetics of Squamata: The position of snakes, amphisbaenians, and dibamids, and the root of the squamate tree. Systematic Biology 53:735-757 (Pubitemid 39568276)
54. Vidal, N., and S. B. Hedges. 2004. Molecular evidence for a terrestrial origin of snakes. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B 271:S226-S229 (Pubitemid 38586400)
55. Vidal, N., and S. B. Hedges. 2005. The phylogeny of squamate reptiles (lizards, snakes, and amphisbaenians) inferred from nine nuclear protein-coding genes. Comptes Rendus Biologies 328:1000-1008 (Pubitemid 41683492)
56. Wilson, J. A., D. M. Mohabey, S. E. Peters, and J. J. Head. 2010. Predation upon hatchling dinosaurs by a new snake from the Late Cretaceous of India. PLoS Biology 8:1-10
57. Witmer, L.M., 1995. The extant phylogenetic bracket and the importance of reconstructing soft tissues in fossils; pp. 19-33 in J. J. Thompson (ed.), FunctionalMorphology in Vertebrate Paleontology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K.
58. Zaher, H., and C. A. Scanferla. 2011. The skull of the Upper Cretaceous snake Dinilysia patagonica Smith-Woodward, 1901, and its phylogenetic position revisited. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 164:194-238
59. Zaher, H., S. Apestegu'ia, and C. A. Scanferla. 2009. The anatomy of the Upper Cretaceous snake Najash rionegrina Apestegu'ia and Zaher, 2006, and the evolution of limblessness in snakes. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 156:801-826
60. Albino, A. M. 2011. Evolution of Squamata Reptiles in Patagonia based on the fossil record. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 103: 441-457.
61. Albino, A. M., and, Caldwell, M. W. 2003. Hábitos de vida de la serpiente cretácica Dinilysia patagonica Woodward. Ameghiana, 40: 407-414. (Pubitemid 37546364)
62. Apesteguía, S., and, Zaher, H. A. 2006. A Cretaceous terrestrial snake with robust hindlimbs and a sacrum. Nature, 440: 1037-1040.
63. Apesteguía, S., Makovicky, P. J., Gaetano, L., Smith, N., and, Rougier, G. W. In press. Cerro Bandera: una nueva localidad con micro y mesovertebrados limayenses en Río Negro y la distribución de la fauna de La Buitrera. XXIII Jornadas Argentinas de Paleontología de Vertebrados. Ameghiniana
64. Bolkay, St. J. 1925. Mesophis nopcsai n. g., n. sp., ein neues, schlangenahnliches Reptil aus der unteren Kreide (Neocom) von Bilek-Selista (Ost-Hercegovina). Glasnika Zemaljskog Mujeza u Bosni i Hercegovini, 27: 125-126.
65. Brongniart, A. 1800. Essai dune classification naturelle des reptiles. 1ère partie. Establissement des Orders. Bulletin des Sciences, par la Societé Philomatique, Paris, 11: 81-82.
66. Budney, L. A., Caldwell, M. W., and, Albino, A. 2006. Unexpected tooth socket histology in the Cretaceous snake Dinilysia with a review of amniote dental attachment tissues. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 26: 138-145. (Pubitemid 43676140)
67. Caldwell, M. W. 2007. " Snake phylogeny, origins, and evolution: the role, impact, and importance of fossils (1869-2006) ". In Major Transitions in Vertebrate Evolution, Edited by: Anderson, J. S. and Sues, H.-D. 253-302. Bloomington and Indianapolis, Indiana: Indiana University Press.
68. Caldwell, M. W., and, Albino, A. 2002. Exceptionally preserved skeletons of the Cretaceous snake Dinilysia patagonica, Woodward, 1901. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 22: 861-866. (Pubitemid 44550818)
69. Caldwell, M. W., and, Calvo, J. 2008. Details of a new skull and articulated cervical column of Dinilysia patagonica Woodward, 1901. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 28: 349-362. (Pubitemid 351983299)
70. Carpenter, C. C., Murphy, J. B., and, Mitchell, L. A. 1978. Combat bouts with spur use in the Madagascan boa (Sanzinia madagascariensis). Herpetologica, 34: 207-212.
71. Conrad, J. L. 2008. Phylogeny and systematics of Squamata (Reptilia) based on morphology. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 310: 1-182.
72. Cope, E. D. 1869. On the reptilian orders Pythonomorpha and Streptosauria. Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History, 12: 250-261.
73. Estes, R., Frazzetta, T. H., and, Williams, E. E. 1970. Studies on the fossil snake Dinilysia patagonica Woodward: part 1. Cranial morphology. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, 140: 25-74.
74. Estes, R., de Quieroz, K., and, Gauthier, J. 1988. " Phylogenetic relationships within Squamata ". In Phylogenetic Relationships of the Lizard Families, Edited by: Estes, R. and Pregill, G. 119-281. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press.
75. Felsenstein, J. 1983. Statistical inference of phylogenies. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series A, 146: 246-272.
76. Felsenstein, J. 1985. Confidence limits on phylogenies: an approach using the bootstrap. Evolution, 39: 783-791.
77. Fitch, W. M. 1971. Toward defining the course of evolution: minimal change for a specific tree topology. Systematic Zoology, 20: 406-416.
78. Frazzetta, T. H. 1966. Studies on the morphology and function of the skull in the Boidae (Serpentes). Part II: morphology and function of the jaw apparatus in Python sebae and Python molurus. Journal of Morphology, 118: 217-296.
79. Gardner, J., and, Cifelli, R. 1999. A primitive snake from the Cretaceous of Utah. Special Papers in Palaeontology, 60: 87-100.
80. Gauthier, J. A., Kearney, M., Maisano, J. A., Rieppel, O., and, Behlke, A. D. B. 2012. Assembling the squamate tree of life: perspectives from the phenotype and the fossil record. Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History, 53: 3-308.
81. Greene, H. W. 1997. Snakes: The Evolution of Mystery in Nature, 351 Berkeley, California: University of California Press.
82. Greer, A. E. 1985. The relationships of the lizard genera Anelytropsis and Dibamus. Journal of Herpetology, 19: 116-156.
83. Haas, G. 1979. On a new snakelike reptile from the Lower Cenomanian of Ein Jabrud, near Jerusalem. Bulletin du Muséum National dHistoire Naturelle, Paris, Series 4, 1: 51-64.
84. Hall, B. K. 2003. Descent with modification: the unity underlying homology and homoplasy as seen through an analysis of development and evolution. Biological Review, 78: 409-433. (Pubitemid 37193393)
85. Hillis, D. M., and, Bull, J. J. 1993. An empirical test of bootstrapping as a method for assessing confidence in phylogenetic analyses. Systematic Biology, 42: 182-192.
86. Houssaye, A., Xu, F., Helfen, L., De Buffréénil, V., Baumbach, T., and, Tafforeau, P. 2011. Three-dimensional pelvis and limb anatomy of the Cenomanian hind-limbed snake Eupodophis descouensi (Squamata, Ophidia) revealed by synchrotron-radiation computed laminography. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 31: 2-7.
87. Lee, M. S. Y. 1997. The phylogeny of varanoid lizards and the affinities of snakes. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B, 352: 53-91. (Pubitemid 127738814)
88. Lee, M. S. Y. 1998. Convergent evolution and character correlation in burrowing reptiles: towards a resolution of squamate relationships. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 65: 369-453. (Pubitemid 29032382)
89. Lee, M. S. Y. 2005. Squamate phylogeny, taxon sampling, and data congruence. Organisms, Diversity and Evolution, 5: 25-45. (Pubitemid 40451700)
90. Lee, M. S. Y. 2009. Hidden support from unpromising data sets strongly unites snakes with anguimorph lizards. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 22: 1308-1316.
91. Lee, M. S. Y., and, Caldwell, M. W. 1998. Anatomy and relationships of Pachyrhachis, a primitive snake with hindlimbs. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B, 353: 1521-1552. (Pubitemid 28490547)
92. Lee, M. S. Y., and, Caldwell, M. W. 2000. Adriosaurus and the affinities of mosasaurs, dolichosaurs, and snakes. Journal of Paleontology, 74: 915-937.
93. Lee, M. S. Y., and, Scanlon, J. D. 2002. Snake phylogeny based on osteology, soft anatomy and ecology. Biological Reviews, 77: 333-401. (Pubitemid 34976480)
94. Lee, M. S. Y., Caldwell, M. W., and, Scanlon, J. D. 1999. A second primitive marine snake: Pachyophis woodwardi from the Cretaceous of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Journal of Zoology, 248: 509-520. (Pubitemid 29365575)
95. Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis, ii-+824. Stockholm: Editio decima, reformata. Laurentius Salvius Holmiae.
96. Maschio, G. F., Prudente, A. L. C., Rodriguez, F. S., and, Hoogmoed, M. S. 2010. Food habits of Anilius scytale (Serpentes: Aniliidae) in the Brazilian Amazonia. Zoologia, 27: 184-190.
97. McDowell, S. B. 1975. A catalogue of the snakes of New Guinea and the Solomons, with special reference to those in the Bernice P. Bishop Museum. Part II. Anilioidea and Pythoninae. Journal of Herpetology, 9: 1-79.
98. Nopcsa, F. B. 1923. Eidolosaurus und Pachyophis. Zwei neue Neocom-Reptilien. Palaeontographica, 65: 99-154.
99. OShea, M. 2007. Boas and Pythons of the World, 165 Princeton, Oxford, New Jersey, U.K: Princeton University Press.
100. Oppel, M. 1811. Die Ordnungen, Familien, und Gattungen der Reptilien als prodrom einer naturgeschichte derselben, 88 Munich: Akademie der Wissenschaften.
101. Rage, J.-C. 1982. La phylogenie des Lepidosauriens (Reptilia): une approche cladistique. Comptes Rendus de lAcademie des Sciences, 294: 563-566.
102. Rage, J.-C., and, Escuillié, F. 2000. Un nouveau serpent bipède du Cénomanien (Crétacé). Implications phylètiques. Comptes Rendus de lAcademie des Sciences, 330: 513-520. (Pubitemid 30322543)
103. Rage, J.-C., and, Escuillié, F. 2003. The Cenomanian: stage of hindlimbed snakes. Carnets de Géologie (Notebooks on Geology), 1: 1-11.
104. Rieppel, O., and, Head, J. J. 2004. New specimens of the fossil snake genus Eupodophis Rage and Escuillié, from the Cenomanian (Late Cretaceous) of Lebanon. Memorie della Società Italiana di Scienze Naturali e del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano, 32: 1-26.
105. Rieppel, O., Zaher, H., Tchernov, E., and, Polcyn, M. J. 2003. The anatomy and relationships of Haasiophis terrasanctus, a fossil snake with well developed hind limbs from the mid-Cretaceous of the Middle East. Journal of Paleontology, 77: 536-558. (Pubitemid 36689264)
106. Rogers, R. R., Eberth, D. A., and, Fiorillo, A. R. 2007. Bonebeds: Genesis, Analysis, and Paleobiological Significance, 499 Chicago, Illinois, London, U.K: The University of Chicago Press.
107. Romer, A. S. 1956. Osteology of the Reptiles, 772 Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press.
108. Sankey, J. T., and, Baszio, S. 2008. Vertebrate Microfossil Assemblages: Their Role in Paleoecology and Paleobiogeography, 278 Indiana: Indiana University Press, Bloomington.
109. Smith-Woodward, A. 1901. On some extinct reptiles from Patagonia of the genera Miolania, Dinilysia, and Genyodectes. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1901: 169-184.
110. Swofford, D. L. 2002. PAUP: Phylogenetic Analysis Using Parsimony, Version 4.0b10, Sunderland, Massachusetts: Sinauer.
111. Tchernov, E., Rieppel, O., Zaher, H., Polcyn, M., and, Jacobs, L. L. 2000. A fossil snake with limbs. Science, 287: 2010-2012. (Pubitemid 30158676)
112. Townsend, T., Larson, A., Louis, E. J., and, Macey, J. R. 2004. Molecular phylogenetics of Squamata: the position of snakes, amphisbaenians, and dibamids, and the root of the squamate tree. Systematic Biology, 53: 735-757. (Pubitemid 39568276)
113. Vidal, N., and, Hedges, S. B. 2004. Molecular evidence for a terrestrial origin of snakes. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B, 271: S226-S229.
114. Vidal, N., and, Hedges, S. B. 2005. The phylogeny of squamate reptiles (lizards, snakes, and amphisbaenians) inferred from nine nuclear protein-coding genes. Comptes Rendus Biologies, 328: 1000-1008. (Pubitemid 41683492)
115. Wilson, J. A., Mohabey, D. M., Peters, S. E., and, Head, J. J. 2010. Predation upon hatchling dinosaurs by a new snake from the Late Cretaceous of India. PLoS Biology, 8: 1-10.
116. Witmer, L. M. 1995. " The extant phylogenetic bracket and the importance of reconstructing soft tissues in fossils ". In Functional Morphology in Vertebrate Paleontology, Edited by: Thompson, J. J. 19-33. Cambridge, U.K: Cambridge University Press.
117. Zaher, H., and, Scanferla, C. A. 2011. The skull of the Upper Cretaceous snake Dinilysia patagonica Smith-Woodward, 1901, and its phylogenetic position revisited. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 164: 194-238.
118. Zaher, H., Apesteguía, S., and, Scanferla, C. A. 2009. The anatomy of the Upper Cretaceous snake Najash rionegrina Apesteguía and Zaher, 2006, and the evolution of limblessness in snakes. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 156: 801-826.