Our knowledge of early evolution of snakes is improving, but all that we can infer about the evolution of modern clades of snakes such as boas (Booidea) is still based on isolated bones. Here, we resolve the phylogenetic relationships of Eoconstrictor fischeri comb. nov. and other booids from the early-middle Eocene of Messel (Germany), the best-known fossil snake assemblage yet discovered. Our combined analyses demonstrate an affinity of Eoconstrictor with Neotropical boas, thus entailing a South America-to-Europe dispersal event. Other booid species from Messel are related to different New World clades, reinforcing the cosmopolitan nature of the Messel booid fauna. Our analyses indicate that Eoconstrictor was a terrestrial, medium- to lar...
The minute fossil boas Messelophis variatus and Rieppelophis ermannorum are the most abundant snak...
Snakes represent one-eighth of terrestrial vertebrate diversity, encompassing various lifestyles, ec...
Madtsoiids are among the most basal snakes, with a fossil record dating back to the Upper Cretaceous...
Our knowledge of early evolution of snakes is improving, but all that we can infer about the evoluti...
The previous oldest known fossil snakes date from ∼100 million year old sediments (Upper Cretaceous)...
BACKGROUND: The highly derived morphology and astounding diversity of snakes has long inspired debat...
Madtsoiids are among the most basal snakes, with a fossil record dating back to the Upper Cretaceous...
We provide a detailed anatomical description of the skull of the fossil minute boas Messelophis vari...
Background: The highly derived morphology and astounding diversity of snakes has long inspired debat...
Snakes represent one of the most dramatic examples of the evolutionary versatility of the vertebrate...
A nearly complete skeleton of an erycine boid is described from the Ypresian-Lutetian (early-middle ...
Macrostomatan snakes, one of the most diverse extant clades of squamates, display an impressive arse...
Relationships between the major lineages of snakes are assessed based on a phylogenetic analysis of ...
The ecological origin of snakes remains amongst the most controversial topics in evolution, with thr...
Bayesian divergence time analyses were used to simultaneously infer the phylogenetic relationships a...
The minute fossil boas Messelophis variatus and Rieppelophis ermannorum are the most abundant snak...
Snakes represent one-eighth of terrestrial vertebrate diversity, encompassing various lifestyles, ec...
Madtsoiids are among the most basal snakes, with a fossil record dating back to the Upper Cretaceous...
Our knowledge of early evolution of snakes is improving, but all that we can infer about the evoluti...
The previous oldest known fossil snakes date from ∼100 million year old sediments (Upper Cretaceous)...
BACKGROUND: The highly derived morphology and astounding diversity of snakes has long inspired debat...
Madtsoiids are among the most basal snakes, with a fossil record dating back to the Upper Cretaceous...
We provide a detailed anatomical description of the skull of the fossil minute boas Messelophis vari...
Background: The highly derived morphology and astounding diversity of snakes has long inspired debat...
Snakes represent one of the most dramatic examples of the evolutionary versatility of the vertebrate...
A nearly complete skeleton of an erycine boid is described from the Ypresian-Lutetian (early-middle ...
Macrostomatan snakes, one of the most diverse extant clades of squamates, display an impressive arse...
Relationships between the major lineages of snakes are assessed based on a phylogenetic analysis of ...
The ecological origin of snakes remains amongst the most controversial topics in evolution, with thr...
Bayesian divergence time analyses were used to simultaneously infer the phylogenetic relationships a...
The minute fossil boas Messelophis variatus and Rieppelophis ermannorum are the most abundant snak...
Snakes represent one-eighth of terrestrial vertebrate diversity, encompassing various lifestyles, ec...
Madtsoiids are among the most basal snakes, with a fossil record dating back to the Upper Cretaceous...