Oldest co-occurrence of Varanus and Python from Africa-first record of squamates from the early Miocene of Moghra Formation, Western Desert, Egypt.

Georgios L Georgalis,Ahmed N El-Barkooky,Mohamed A Hamdan,Mohamed K Abdel Gawad,Safiya M Hassan

doi:10.7717/peerj.9092

Georgios L Georgalis, Ahmed N El-Barkooky + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.9092

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Journal: PeerJ	Publication Date: May 22, 2020
Citations: 19	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Cairo University, University of Turin, Beni-Suef University

Abstract

Lizard and snake remains from the early Miocene (Burdigalian) of the Moghra Formation, Egypt, are described herein. This material comprises the first fossil remains of squamates recovered from the otherwise rich and well known vertebrate assemblage of Moghra. The material pertains to two different genera, the varanid lizard Varanus and the pythonid snake Python and adds to the so far rather poorly known squamate fossil record from Africa. On the basis of the new remains, Moghra marks the oldest so far described co-occurrence of Varanus and Python in the African continent. The close sympatry of these two genera in the African fossil record is thoroughly analyzed and discussed, a co-existence, which is still widespread in the extant herpetofauna of the continent. Situated rather close to the so called “Levantine Corridor” and dated at the Burdigalian, practically when Afro-Arabia collided with Eurasia, the Moghra squamate assemblage offers the potential of important insights in the biogeography and dispersal events of vertebrate groups during the early Miocene.

Highlights

The genera Varanus and Python are among the most iconic squamates
The material pertains to two different genera, the varanid lizard Varanus and the pythonid snake Python and adds to the so far rather poorly known squamate fossil record from Africa
The rarity and inadequate knowledge of their fossil record is readily highlighted by the fact that multiple species of both genera are present in the extant African herpetofauna (Pianka, King & King, 2004; Wallach, Williams & Boundy, 2014), only two extinct species have been named from the continent, one from each genus, i.e., Varanus rusingensis Clos, 1995, from the early Miocene of Kenya and Python maurus Rage, 1976, from the middle Miocene of Morocco (Rage, 1976; Clos, 1995)

Summary

Introduction

The genera Varanus and Python are among the most iconic squamates. They are both almost immediately recognizable even to the general public, commonly known as monitor lizards and pythons respectively. Varanus comprises the largest extant species of lizards, while certain species of Python rank among the longest and heaviest species of snakes (Murphy & Henderson, 1997; Pianka, King & King, 2004) Both Varanus and Python form important ecological elements to the environments they reside in; there are significant trophic interactions among the two genera, with documented cases of Varanus preying upon Python and vice versa (e.g., Mash, 1944; Murphy & Henderson, 1997; Chippaux & Jackson, 2019). Their fossil record on the African continent is, rather scarce, being confined to rather few documented occurrences across the Neogene and Quaternary of the continent (Rage, 1976; Rage, 2003; Rage, 2008; Bailon & Rage, 1994; Clos, 1995; Delfino et al, 2004; Delfino et al, 2018; Head & Müller, 2020). The rarity and inadequate knowledge of their fossil record is readily highlighted by the fact that multiple species of both genera are present in the extant African herpetofauna (Pianka, King & King, 2004; Wallach, Williams & Boundy, 2014), only two extinct species have been named from the continent, one from each genus, i.e., Varanus rusingensis Clos, 1995, from the early Miocene of Kenya and Python maurus Rage, 1976, from the middle Miocene of Morocco (Rage, 1976; Clos, 1995)

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