Hemorrhois nummifer (Reuss, 1834)

Ma‛ayan Lev, Dani Nadel, Mina Weinstein-Evron & Reuven Yeshurun, 2022, Squamates and amphibians from the Natufian cemetery of Raqefet Cave, Israel: taphonomy, paleoenvironments and paleoclimate, An International Journal of Paleobiology 34 (12), pp. 2394-2414 : 2404

Hemorrhois nummifer (Reuss, 1834)

The Coin-marked Snake was identified by four trunk vertebrae ( Figure 6 (b)); it is a small-sized ‘colubrine’. The cotyle has a circular shape that flattens dorsoventrally. The condyle is slightly oval and flattened ventrally. In the dorsal view, the vertebra is longer than wide, and the interzygapophyseal constriction is well-marked. The neural spine is relatively strong and long, extending posterior to the zygosphene. The prezygapophyseal articular facets are elongated and oval shaped. In the ventral view, the centrum is triangular and slightly convex. The haemal keel differentiates the Coinmarked Snake from other small size ‘colubrines’; it is well-defined and narrow anteriorly and expands posteriorly where its borders are less defined. In younger specimens, the posterior edge of the haemal keel has a protruding triangular shape. In anterior view, even though the prezygapophyseal accessory processes are broken, the prezygapophyses appear to be directed laterally. The zygosphene is wide and is concave anteriorly; the neural canal is wide; the anterior edge of the neural arch is U-shaped. In posterior view, the neural canal is wide and the posterior edge of the neural arch is U-shaped. In lateral view, the neural spine starts to rise dorsally at the anterior edge. The surface of the diapopyses and parapophyses is eroded, but some general characteristics are still notable. The diapophyses are rounded and expand posterodorsally. The parapophyses protrude anteriorly.

The species inhabits the Mediterranean region, mostly common in the Mediterranean maquis, Mediterranean alluvial valleys and in the coastal plain. However, it can also be found in the semi-arid /arid habitat of the Northern Negev (supplementary Figure S2 (f)). This species was identified at two Natufian sites in Israel: EWT ( Lev et al. 2020) and Eynan ( Biton et al. 2021).

Figures

Figure 2. Plan of Raqefet Cave (a) provenance of the faunal samples, with the different contexts presented in this study labelled in red (b).

Figure 6. Snake bones from Raqefet Cave. Eryx jaculus (a) trunk vertebra, dorsal, ventral, anterior, posterior and lateral views; Hemorrhois nummifer (b) trunk vertebra, dorsal, ventral,anterior,posterior and lateral views; Dolichophis jugularis (c) trunk vertebra dorsal,ventral, anterior, posterior and lateral views; Malpolon insignitus (d) trunk vertebra dorsal, ventral, anterior, posterior and lateral views; Daboia cf. palaestinae (e) vertebra dorsal, ventral, anterior, posterior and lateral views.