Kataria

Kah-tah-re-ah.
Published on

Benjamin Gutierrez

Vertebrate Paleontologist

Benjamin Gutierrez is a leading expert on dinosaurs, particularly the mighty theropods. His fieldwork in South America has uncovered new species and provided insights into dinosaur social structures.

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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.

Diet

Carnivore.

Species

K.‭ ‬anisodonta‭

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.

In Depth

       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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