Micrurus gallicus Rage & Holman, 1984

Rage, Jean-Claude & Bailon, Salvador, 2005, Amphibians and squamate reptiles from the late early Miocene (MN 4) of Béon 1 (Montréal-du-Gers, southwestern France), Geodiversitas 27 (3), pp. 413-441 : 433

Micrurus gallicus Rage & Holman, 1984

Micrurus gallicus Rage & Holman, 1984: 97-99 , fig. 6. — Szyndlar & Schleich 1993: 29, 30, fig. 8. — Szyndlar & Böhme 1993: 404. — Augé & Rage 2000: 301-302.

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — 7 trunk vertebrae (Béon 2004 LT 80).

COMMENTS

M i c r u r u s i s a l i v i n g e l a p i d t h a t i n h a b i t s t h e Americas. The only non-american species was originally described from the middle Miocene (MN 7+8) of La Grive ( France; Rage & Holman 1984). The vertebrae are small (centrum length of the largest vertebra: 4.2 mm) and provided with a short hypapophysis. As is typical for Micrurus , the axis of the hypapophysis is at a very acute angle to the vertebral axis. Consequently, although short, the hypapophysis projects posteriorly beyond the tip of the condyle in various vertebrae. The neural spine is very low and long. The centrum is narrow, elongate, with a flat ventral surface. The subcentral ridges are not prominent and the subcentral grooves not clearly marked. The prezygapophyseal processes are relatively long.

The vertebrae are similar to those of Micrurus but the assignment to this genus has been questioned to varying degrees by Szyndlar & Schleich (1993) and Augé & Rage (2000): the vertebral morphology of various small elapids from Asia is unknown and the referral of M. gallicus to one of these Asiatic forms cannot be definitely ruled out. But these small elapids remain poorly known and the referral of the European species at generic level should be probably reconsidered after revision of this assemblage.

M. gallicus has been reported from the early Miocene (MN 4) of Petersbuch 2, Germany ( Szyndlar & Schleich 1993) and the middle Miocene of Sansan (MN 6) and La Grive (MN 7+8), both localities in France ( Rage & Holman 1984; Augé & Rage 2000). Micrurus aff. M. gallicus was reported from Vieux-Collonges (MN 4/5, France) by Ivanov (2000).