Details - Pleistocene snakes of the Ozark Plateau

Pleistocene snakes of the Ozark Plateau

Title

Pleistocene snakes of the Ozark Plateau

Related Titles

Series: American Museum novitates, no. 1882

By

Dowling, Herndon G. (Herndon Glenn), 1921-2015

Brown, Barnum, 1873-1963

Type

Book

Material

Published material

Publication info

New York, N.Y, American Museum of Natural History, [1958]

Notes

Title from caption.

"February 28, 1958."

"The only known source of Pleistocene fossils in this region is the Conard Fissue of northeastern Arkansas."

Some specimens collected by Barnum Brown in 1908 or earlier.

"Middorsal vertebrae of snakes from the Pleistocene Conard Fissure of the Ozark Plateau are here recognized as belonging to eight genera in two families. The forms identified are: Carpophis amoenus, Coluber constrictor, C. flagellum, Elaphe guttata, E. vulpina, Heterodon sp., Lampropeltis doliata, L. ?calligaster, L. getulus, Pituophis melanoleucus, Thamnophis sirtalis, and ?Crotalus sp. A predator selection of terrestrial diurnal species is suggested. The reptiles so far identified indicate a more arid climate, and perhaps typical prairie conditions, at the time of deposition. When the large number of extinct mammals previously reported from the deposit (Brown, 1908) is considered, the most surprising aspect of the snake fauna is its similarity to the present one. Only two of the recognized species are not known from the region now, and none is extinct"--P. 8.