A large viper from the early Vallesian (MN 9) of Moldova (Eastern Romania) with notes on the palaeobiogeography of late Miocene “Oriental vipers”

Abstract

We report herein the presence of a large viperine snake assigned to Macrovipera sp. from the early Vallesian (MN 9) locality of Crețești-1 (Moldova, Romania), representing the first occurrence of this genus in the late Miocene of eastern Romania. We use morphological, morphometrical, phylogeographical and palaeobiogeographical data to differentiate Macrovipera from its sister taxon Montivipera and to reconstruct its supposed late Miocene westward migration alongside the northern margins of Eastern and Central Paratethys from its alleged centre of origin in the Middle East. We assess also the presence of this taxon in several middle and late Miocene localities of Romania, Hungary and Austria, an information completely ignored in recent reviews.