Lapparentophiidae Explained

Lapparentophiidae (meaning "Lapparent's snakes") are an extinct family of basal terrestrial ophidians known from Early-Late Cretaceous (?Albian-Cenomanian)-aged fossil remains discovered in Algeria, France, Morocco and Sudan.^[1] Two genera are known: the type species, Lapparentophis^[2] and the poorly represented genus Pouitella.^[3]

They were initially believed to have been snakes, but later studied have found Lapparentophiidae to fall under Ophidia, the clade which Serpentes also belongs to.

Notes and References

1. Romain Vullo . 2019 . A new species of Lapparentophis from the mid-Cretaceous Kem Kem beds, Morocco, with remarks on the distribution of lapparentophiid snakes . Comptes Rendus Palevol . 18 . 7 . 765–770 . 10.1016/j.crpv.2019.08.004 . 210297438 .
2. Hoffstetter, R. (1959). A terrestrial snake in the Lower Cretaceous of the Sahara [in French]. Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France, 7e série 1:897-902
3. Rage, J-C. (1988). A primitive snake in the Cenomanian. [in French] C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Sér. II. 307, 1027-1032