Vipera sp.

Delfino, Massimo, Bailon, Salvador & Pitruzzella, Gaetano, 2011, The Late Pliocene amphibians and reptiles from “ Capo Mannu D 1 Local Fauna ” (Mandriola, Sardinia, Italy), Geodiversitas 33 (2), pp. 357-382 : 376-378

Vipera sp. ( Fig. 7E, F )

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Tooth: 1; trunk vertebra: 2.

DESCRIPTION

The isolated tooth is the proximal portion (2.7 mm long) of a fang which, despite the missing tip retains a distinct curvature. Part of a relatively wide, but sagittally elongated, opening of the venom canal is preserved on the convex side at the proximal end of the fragment; in correspondence of such opening the external surface is internally folded.

The two fragmentary vertebrae are characterized by being relatively short and tall (centrum length about 1.9 mm); the cotyle and condyle are rather round and proportionally large; the paracotylar foramina are fairly large and open at the bottom of a deep depression; the paradiapophyses are damaged but the only preserved parapophyseal process is long, pointed and anteroventrally directed; the preserved portion of the hypapophysis indicates that it was anteroposteriorly narrow and long; the neural canal is slightly larger than the condyle; the pre- and postzygapophyses are markedly tilted in dorsal direction; the only preserved prezygapophyseal facet is elongated and its process is rather robust but short (not exceeding the facets in dorsal view); the postzygapophyseal facets have a shape complementary to that of the prezygapophyses; the zygosphene is convex both in anterior and dorsal view; the posterior edge of the neural arch is low and its borders are straight (to nearly concave) in posterior view; the neural spine should have been quite tall.

A

DISCUSSION

The isolated tooth is clearly a maxillary fang of a venomous snake matching with the solenoglyphous teeth of viperids.The vertebrae can be referred to the genus Vipera on the basis of the orientation of the zygapophyses, the size of the cotyles and condyles, and the shape of the hypapophysis and neural arch ( Szyndlar 1984, 1991b; Szyndlar & Rage 2002). The short vertebral centrum somewhat recalls the morphology of V. aspis , however, due to the scarcity of the material and its preservation, the identification is limited at genus rank.

Figures

FIG. 7. — Fossil remains of reptiles from Capo Mannu D1 Local Fauna (Sardinia): A-D, “Colubrines” indet: A, B, trunk vertebra (DSTC 6024), dorsal and posterior views; C, D, right maxilla (DSTC 6025), medial and ventral views; E, F, Vipera sp. trunk vertebra (DSTC 6026), dorsal and right lateral views. Scale bars: 2 mm.