Tingamarra Alamitophis (Alamitophis species)
Alamitophis.
Illustration: A Musser © Australian Museum.
Lived: 55 million years ago (early Eocene)
Size: Length: 80cm
Description: The Tingamarra Alamitophis was a snake that ate frogs, lizards, small mammals, and other snakes. It is very closely related to a fossil snake from South America, providing important evidence of the ancient land connection between Australia and South America.
Fossils: Backbones (vertebrae) of Tingamarra Alamitophis have been found at Murgon in southeastern Queensland.
Did you know?: Alamitophis snakes belong to a family of extinct snakes called madtsoiids. Madtsoiids survived longer in Australia than elsewhere - until about 100, 000 years ago.
