Kataria

Name: Kataria.
Phonetic: Kah-tah-re-ah.
Named By: A.‭ ‬Scanferla,‭ ‬H.‭ ‬Zaher,‭ ‬F.‭ ‬E.‭ ‬Novas,‭ ‬C.‭ ‬Muizon‭ & ‬R.‭ ‬Cespedes‭ ‬-‭ ‬2013.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Ophidia,‭ ‬Serpentes,‭ ‬Macrostomata.
Species: K.‭ ‬anisodonta‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Uncertain due to lack of remains,‭ ‬but holotype skull is‭ ‬7‭ ‬millimetres long.
Known locations: Bolivia‭ ‬-‭ ‬Santa Luc�a Formation.
Time period: Danian of the Paleocene.
Fossil representation: A partial but articulated skull.

       Kataria was a macrostomatan snake that lived in Bolivia during the Danian stage of the Paleocene.‭ ‬At the time of its description,‭ ‬Kataria was the oldest macrostomatan snake known from South America.‭ ‬As a macrostomatan snake,‭ ‬Kataria would be expected to be able to disarticulate its jaw so that it could swallow larger prey.

Further reading
- A New Snake Skull from the Paleocene of Bolivia Sheds Light on the Evolution of Macrostomatans,‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Scanferla,‭ ‬H.‭ ‬Zaher,‭ ‬F.‭ ‬E.‭ ‬Novas,‭ ‬C.‭ ‬Muizon‭ & ‬R.‭ ‬Cespedes‭ ‬-‭ ‬2013.



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