Book contents
- The Origin and Early Evolutionary History of Snakes
- The Systematics Association Special Volume Series
- The Origin and Early Evolutionary History of Snakes
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- 1 Introduction
- Part I The Squamate and Snake Fossil Record
- 2 The Origin and Early Diversification of Squamates
- 3 The First 80 Million Years of Snake Evolution
- 4 The Diversity and Distribution of Palaeogene Snakes
- 5 Miocene Snakes of Eurasia
- Part II Palaeontology and the Marine-Origin Hypothesis
- Part III Genomic Perspectives
- Part IV Neurobiological Perspectives
- Part V Anatomical and Functional Morphological Perspectives
- Index
- Series page
- References
2 - The Origin and Early Diversification of Squamates
from Part I - The Squamate and Snake Fossil Record
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 30 July 2022
Book contents
- The Origin and Early Evolutionary History of Snakes
- The Systematics Association Special Volume Series
- The Origin and Early Evolutionary History of Snakes
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- 1 Introduction
- Part I The Squamate and Snake Fossil Record
- 2 The Origin and Early Diversification of Squamates
- 3 The First 80 Million Years of Snake Evolution
- 4 The Diversity and Distribution of Palaeogene Snakes
- 5 Miocene Snakes of Eurasia
- Part II Palaeontology and the Marine-Origin Hypothesis
- Part III Genomic Perspectives
- Part IV Neurobiological Perspectives
- Part V Anatomical and Functional Morphological Perspectives
- Index
- Series page
- References
Summary
Squamata, the group that comprises lizards, snakes, and amphisbaenians, is the largest and most diverse major group of living reptiles. Although most recent estimates place their divergence from Rhynchocephalia in the early Triassic, the first unequivocal records of squamates currently date from the Middle Jurassic, and the first crown squamates, representing Scincoidea, Anguimorpha, and possibly Gekkota, are known from the Late Jurassic. The record then improves substantially in the Early Cretaceous, with squamate fossils recorded from most major continents and showing evidence of expansion into a diversity of specialist niches. Despite recent claims to the contrary, the earliest unequivocal snake fossils also date from this period, with fragmentary remains from the Aptian-Cenomanian of North Africa and North America, followed by a more substantial global record from the Cenomanian onwards. The re-interpretation of the Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous parviraptorids as snakes was based on a misinterpretation of the original material, as shown by new associated specimens from the Middle Jurassic of Scotland.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Origin and Early Evolutionary History of Snakes , pp. 7 - 25Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022
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