View source for Biology:Nigerophiidae

{{Short description|Extinct family of reptiles}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = {{fossil range|Cenomanian|Eocene}}
| image = Nigerophis mirus.jpg
| image_caption = Life restoration of ''Nigerophis''
| taxon = Nigerophiidae
| authority = Rage, 1975
| subdivision_ranks = Genera
| subdivision = See text
| synonyms = Nigeropheidae
}}

'''Nigerophiidae''' is an [[Biology:Extinction|extinct]] family of marine [[Biology:Snake|snake]]s known from the [[Earth:Late Cretaceous|Late Cretaceous]] to the [[Earth:Paleogene|Paleogene]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=PBDB |url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/basicTaxonInfo?taxon_no=53990 |access-date=2024-01-23 |website=paleobiodb.org}}</ref> Species of this family were found throughout much of the former [[Earth:Tethys Ocean|Tethys Ocean]] (mainland [[Earth:Africa|Africa]], {{wipe|Madagascar}}, [[Earth:Europe|Europe]], [[Place:Central Asia|Central Asia]] and {{wipe|India}}). Their taxonomic identity is uncertain due to their fragmentary remains. The earliest nigerophiid is ''Nubianophis'' from the [[Earth:Cenomanian|Cenomanian]] of Sudan.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rage |first=J. |last2=Werner |first2=C. |date=1999 |title=Mid-Cretaceous (Cenomanian) snakes from Wadi Abu Hashim, Sudan: the earliest snake assemblage |url=https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Mid-Cretaceous-(Cenomanian)-snakes-from-Wadi-Abu-Rage-Werner/1331ef9362ee07b7fc89044e2f76fb3d51ec7a2b}}</ref>

== Taxonomy ==
They are thought to be related to the [[Biology:Palaeophiidae|Palaeophiidae]] due to their similar appearance, distribution, and temporal range, although this is questioned.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gower |first=David J. |last2=Zaher |first2=Hussam |date=2022-08-11 |title=The Origin and Early Evolutionary History of Snakes |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/9781108938891.027 |journal= |pages=473–476 |doi=10.1017/9781108938891.027}}</ref> Some analyses place both families in the superfamily [[Biology:Acrochordoidea|Acrochordoidea]] along with the extant [[Biology:Acrochordus|file snakes]], but this is now heavily disputed.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Snetkov |first=P. B. |last2=Bannikov |first2=A. F. |date=2010-11-01 |title=Vertebrae of sea snakes from the Eocene of the Crimea |url=https://doi.org/10.1134/S0031030110060122 |journal=Paleontological Journal |language=en |volume=44 |issue=6 |pages=698–700 |doi=10.1134/S0031030110060122 |issn=1555-6174}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Folie |first=Annelise |last2=Mees |first2=Florias |last3=De Putter |first3=Thierry |last4=Smith |first4=Thierry |date=2021-07-01 |title=Presence of the large aquatic snake Palaeophis africanus in the middle Eocene marine margin of the Congo Basin, Cabinda, Angola |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016699520300954 |journal=Geobios |series=Proceedings of the PalEurAfrica project international symposium Evolution and Paleoenvironment of Early Modern Vertebrates during the Paleogene |language=en |volume=66-67 |pages=45–54 |doi=10.1016/j.geobios.2020.11.002 |issn=0016-6995}}</ref>

The following genera are known:<ref name=":0" />

* †''Amananulam'' <small>McCartney, Roberts, Tapanila & O'Leary, 2017</small>
* †''Indophis'' <small>Rage & Prasad 1992</small>
* †''[[Biology:Kelyophis|Kelyophis]]'' <small>Laduke et al., 2010</small>
* †''Nessovophis'' <small>Averianov, 1997</small>
* †''Nigerophis'' <small>Rage, 1975</small>
* †''Nubianophis'' <small>Rage & Werner, 1999</small>
* †''Woutersophis'' <small>Rage, 1980</small>

There is some debate over whether ''Indophis'' (and the similar ''Kelyophis'') represent nigerophiids or not.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Laduke |first=Thomas C. |last2=Krause |first2=David W. |last3=Scanlon |first3=John D. |last4=Kley |first4=Nathan J. |date=2010-01-29 |title=A Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) snake assemblage from the Maevarano Formation, Mahajanga Basin, Madagascar |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02724630903409188 |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |language=en |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=109–138 |doi=10.1080/02724630903409188 |issn=0272-4634}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{taxonbar|from1=Q21291002}}

[[Category:Prehistoric reptile families]]
[[Category:Cretaceous first appearances]]
[[Category:Eocene extinctions]]

{{Sourceattribution|Nigerophiidae}}