Largest known madtsoiid snake from warm Eocene period of India suggests intercontinental Gondwana dispersal

Scientific Reports volume  14, Article number: 8054 (2024 ) Cite this article

Here we report the discovery of fossils representing partial vertebral column of a giant madtsoiid snake from an early Middle Eocene (Lutetian, ~ 47 Ma) lignite-bearing succession in Kutch, western India. The estimated body length of ~ 11–15 m makes this new taxon (Vasuki indicus gen et sp. nov.) the largest known madtsoiid snake, which thrived during a warm geological interval with average temperatures estimated at ~ 28 °C. Phylogenetically, Vasuki forms a distinct clade with the Indian Late Cretaceous taxon Madtsoia pisdurensis and the North African Late Eocene Gigantophis garstini. Biogeographic considerations, seen in conjunction with its inter-relationship with other Indian and North African madtsoiids, suggest that Vasuki represents a relic lineage that originated in India. Subsequent India-Asia collision at ~ 50 Ma led to intercontinental dispersal of this lineage from the subcontinent into North Africa through southern Eurasia.

Madtsoiidae are an extinct clade of primarily Gondwanan terrestrial snakes with a temporal range spanning about 100 Myr from the Late Cretaceous–Late Pleistocene1,2,3. Their geographic range during the Late Cretaceous encompassed Madagascar, South America, India, Africa and the European archipelago1,4,5,6,7,8,9. The Cenozoic forms are restricted to North Africa, South America, the Indian subcontinent and Australia2,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17. Madtsoiids display a broad spectrum of body-sizes and include some of the largest known terrestrial snakes that ever lived2,7,9. Although a speciose clade, most taxa are known exclusively from vertebrae, resulting in poorly constrained in-group relationships2,8,16. Additionally, the phylogenetic position of Madtsoiidae within Ophidia has remained contentious, as some studies recover it within Serpentes whereas others place it outside the crown group3,9,17,18,19,20. These phylogenetic uncertainties have hampered our understanding of madtsoiid biogeography and radiation events2,8.

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