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.