Vieux Collonges: Orleanian - Middle Miocene, France
collected by P. Mein, among others

List of taxa
Where & when
Geology
Taphonomy & methods
Metadata & references
Taxonomic list
Reptilia - Phasianidae
cf. Palaeortyx intermedia Ballman 1966
Gohlich 2003
Reptilia - Testudines - Testudinidae
Testudo sp. Linnaeus 1758
Broin 1977
Reptilia - Testudines - Emydidae
Emydidae indet. Rafinesque 1815
Broin 1977
"? Ptychogaster sp."
Reptilia - Varanidae
Varanus cf. hofmanni
Georgalis et al. 2020
Reptilia - Colubridae
Natrix aff. sansaniensis
2 specimens
FSL 368830-1, 2 trunk vertebrae
Natricinae informal A
35 specimens
Morphotype from Ivanov 1997. FSL 368832-4, 3 cervical vertebrae; FSL 368835-66. 32 trunk vertebrae
Natricinae informal B
2 specimens
Morphotype from Ivanov 1997. FSL 368867-8, 2 trunk vertebrae
Natricinae informal C
24 specimens
Morphotype from Ivanov 1997. FSL 368869-91, 24 trunk vertebrae
Natricinae informal D
4 specimens
Morphotype from Ivanov 1997. FSL 368892-5, 4 trunk vertebrae
Neonatrix europaea Rage and Holman 1984
Rage and Holman 1984 7 specimens
    = Neonatrix cf. europaea Rage and Holman 1984
Ivanov 2000
FSL 368823-29, 7 trunk vertebrae
Texasophis sp. Holman 1977
7 specimens
FSL 368349-55, 7 trunk vertebrae
Reptilia - Boidae
Boidae informal B
2 specimens
Morphotype from Ivanov 1997. FSL 368343-4, 2 trunk vertebrae
Boidae informal C
4 specimens
Morphotype from Ivanov 1997. FSL 368345-8, 4 trunk vertebrae
Eryx sp. Daudin 1803
6 specimens
FSL 368337-40, 4 trunk vertebrae; FSL 368341-2, 2 caudal vertebrae
Python sp. Daudin 1803
361 specimens
FSL 368001, 1 palatine; MNHN VCO 5-9 and FSL 368002-033, 37 cervical vertebrae; MNHN VCO 10-29 and FSL 368034-334, 321 trunk vertebrae; FSL 368335-6, 2 caudal vertebrae
Python europaeus
Georgalis et al. 2020
Reptilia - Elapidae
Elapidae informal A
2 specimens
Morphotype from Ivanov 1997. FSL 369197-8, 2 trunk vertebrae
Elapidae informal B
17 specimens
Morphotype from Ivanov 1997. FSL 369199-215, 17 trunk vertebrae
Micrurus gallicus Rage and Holman 1984
Rage and Holman 1984 1 specimen
    = Micrurus aff. gallicus Rage and Holman 1984
Ivanov 2000
FSL 369450, 1 trunk vertebra
Naja informal sp. 1 Laurenti 1768
56 specimens
identified in part as Palaeonaja romani in Rage (1984), in part as Naja cf. N. romani in Szyndlar & Rage (1990), and as Naja sp. 2 in Ivanov (1997). FSL 369141-4, 4 cervical vertebrae; FSL 369145-96, 52 trunk vertebrae
Naja cf. romani Hoffstetter 1939
37 specimens
identified in part as Palaeonaja romani in Rage (1984), in part as Naja cf. N. romani in Szyndlar & Rage (1990), and as Naja sp. 1 in Ivanov (1997). FSL 369104-5, 2 cervical vertebrae; FSL 369106-40, 35 trunk vertebrae
Reptilia - Crotalidae
Viperinae informal B
2 specimens
"Vipera ('Oriental vipers') or Daboia". FSL 369463-4, 2 trunk vertebrae
Viperinae informal A
12 specimens
"'European vipers' group, 'aspis' complex", morphotype from Ivanov 1997. FSL 369451-62, 12 trunk vertebrae
    = Vipera sp. Laurenti 1768
Szyndlar and Rage 1999
"V. aspis complex"
Mammalia - Rodentia - Cricetidae
Cricetodon meini Freudenthal 1963
Heißig 1989
see common names

Geography
Country:France State/province:Rhône-Alpes County:Rhône
Coordinates: 45.8° North, 4.8° East (view map)
Paleocoordinates:46.0° North, 3.4° East
Basis of coordinate:based on nearby landmark
Altitude:175 meters
Geographic resolution:outcrop
Time
Period:Neogene Epoch:Miocene
10 m.y. bin:Cenozoic 5
*Period:Middle Tertiary - Late/Upper Tertiary *Epoch:Middle Miocene (minimum)
Key time interval:Orleanian - Middle Miocene
Age range of interval:20.00000 - 11.60800 m.y. ago
* legacy (obsolete) database fields
Stratigraphy
Stratigraphy comments: lower/middle Miocene fissure fill in Jurassic carbonates
Lithology and environment
Primary lithology: not reported
Environment:fissure fill
Taphonomy
Modes of preservation:body
Size of fossils:macrofossils,mesofossils
Articulated whole bodies:none
Disassociated major elements:all
Collection methods and comments
Collection methods:surface (float),surface (in situ),mechanical,survey of museum collection
Reason for describing collection:taxonomic analysis
Museum repositories:MNHN
Collectors:P. Mein, among others
Collection method comments: Some material is also housed in the Centre des Sciences de La Terre, Université Claude-Bernard, Lyon (FSL).
Note: originally entered total specimen number of 1407 has been removed since specimen numbers of individual taxa are given in the list. (TL)
Taxonomic list comments:Multiple morphotypic taxa have already been identified as such in: Ivanov, M. 1997. Hadi evropskeho kenzoika (Snakes of the European Cenzoic). Ph.D. dissertation, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic, 217 pps.
Metadata
Also known as:"Mont Ceindre"
Database number:26723
Authorizer:J. Head, J. Alroy, J. Mueller, M. Uhen, P. Holroyd Enterer:J. Head, S. Kuemmell, G. Varnham, P. Holroyd, M. Uhen, T. Liebrecht
Modifier:T. Liebrecht Research group:vertebrate
Created:2002-10-25 11:13:33 Last modified:2012-12-04 07:56:58
Access level:the public Released:2002-10-25 11:13:33
Creative Commons license:CC BY
Reference information

Primary reference:

7375. M. Ivanov. 2000. Snakes of the lower/middle Miocene transition at Vieux Collonges (Rhône, France), with comments on the colonisation of western Europe by colubroids. Geodiversitas 22(4):559-588 [J. Head/J. Head/J. Alroy]

Secondary references:

60047 F. Broin. 1977. Contribution a l'etude des Cheloniens. Cheloniens continentaux due Cretace et du Tertiare de France. Memoires du Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Nouvelle Serie, Serie C, Sciences de la terre 38:1-366 [P. Holroyd/P. Holroyd/P. Holroyd]
72533 G. L. Georgalis, M. K. Abdel Gawad, S. M. Hassan, A. N. El-Barkooky, and M. A. Hamdan. 2020. Oldest co-occurrence of Varanus and Python from Africa—first record of squamates from the early Miocene of Moghra Formation, Western Desert, Egypt. PeerJ 8(e9092):1-26 [P. Holroyd/P. Holroyd]
40668 U. B. Gohlich. 2003. The avifauna of the Grund Beds (Middle Miocene, Early Badenian, northern Austria). Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien, Serie A 104:237-249 [M. Uhen/M. Uhen/T. Liebrecht]
13262 K. Heißig. 1989. The faunal succession of the Bavarian Molasse reconsidered - correlation of the MN5 and MN6 faunas. Lindsay, E. H., Fahlbusch, V. & Mein, P.: European Neogene Mammal Chronology. Nato ASI-series, Plenum Press; New York 181-192 [J. Alroy/S. Kuemmell/S. Kuemmell]
43571 J.-C. Rage and J. A. Holman. 1984. Des serpents (Reptilia, Squamata) de type nord-américain dans le Miocène Français. Évolution parallèle ou dispersion. Geobios 17(1):89-104 [J. Mueller/T. Liebrecht]
43699 Z. Szyndlar and J.-C. Rage. 1999. Oldest Fossil Vipers (Serpentes: Viperidae) from the Old World. Kaupia - Darmstädter Beiträge zur Naturgeschichte 8:9-20 [J. Mueller/T. Liebrecht]