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
- Part II Palaeontology and the Marine-Origin Hypothesis
- 6 Sea-Serpentism
- 7 Reassessing the Morphological Foundations of the Pythonomorph Hypothesis
- 8 A Review of Non-Mosasaurid (Dolichosaur and Aigialosaur) Mosasaurians and Their Relationships to Snakes
- 9 A Review of the Skull Anatomy and Phylogenetic Affinities of Marine Pachyophiid Snakes
- Part III Genomic Perspectives
- Part IV Neurobiological Perspectives
- Part V Anatomical and Functional Morphological Perspectives
- Index
- Series page
- References
9 - A Review of the Skull Anatomy and Phylogenetic Affinities of Marine Pachyophiid Snakes
from Part II - Palaeontology and the Marine-Origin Hypothesis
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
- Part II Palaeontology and the Marine-Origin Hypothesis
- 6 Sea-Serpentism
- 7 Reassessing the Morphological Foundations of the Pythonomorph Hypothesis
- 8 A Review of Non-Mosasaurid (Dolichosaur and Aigialosaur) Mosasaurians and Their Relationships to Snakes
- 9 A Review of the Skull Anatomy and Phylogenetic Affinities of Marine Pachyophiid Snakes
- Part III Genomic Perspectives
- Part IV Neurobiological Perspectives
- Part V Anatomical and Functional Morphological Perspectives
- Index
- Series page
- References
Summary
Pachyophiidae fossils are among the most complete known for snakes, and include the earliest snakes with fully developed hindlimbs. Pachyophiids have been historically seen as suitable morphological intermediates between lizards and extant snakes, supporting the hypothesis that snakes originated in a marine setting from a macrophagous common ancestor with mosasaurian lizards. Pachyophiids have been subject to conflicting interpretations of their anatomy, fuelling renewed debate on snake origins and early diversification. We revisit pachyophiid cranial anatomy, providing additional evidence from new preparations, high resolution CT scans, and Synchrotron images. We address challenges posed by fossil (in)completeness to the study and interpretation of these specimens, and reassess phylogenetic affinities. We critically reassess morphological evidence supporting the Marine Hypothesis, concluding that (i) snakes are not especially closely related to mosasaurians, and (ii) pachyophiids are relatively deeply nested within the snake crown, so that they are of greater importance for understanding early crown-snake evolutionary history than they are for understanding snake origins.
Keywords
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Origin and Early Evolutionary History of Snakes , pp. 180 - 206Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022
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