User:Sej139/sandbox

Zilantophis, (meaning Schubert's winged snake, pronounced "zee-lahn-TOE-phis", is a genus of extinct colubrine colubrid snake from the late Miocene-early Pliocene of Tennessee, US. It contains one species, Z. schuberti, described in 2017 by Jasinski and Moscato from several specimens that were discovered at the Gray Fossil Site. Zilantophis is potentially closest related to the North American colubrids Lampropeltis and Pantherophis. Unlike other members of the Colubridae, however, Zilantophis has distinct features that help differentiate it, including characteristics of the neural spine, hemal keel, neural arch, zygosphene, prezygapophyseal accessory processes and articular facets, diapophyses, epizygapophyseal spines (or lack thereof), and the overall shape of the vertebra (clearest in dorsal view). It is part of a mostly modern looking snake assemblage from a unique fossil locality on the eastern side of the Appalachian Mountains.

Description
Even for a colubrid snake, Zilantophis was rather small. It would have been roughly 30 to 40 cm long (12 to 16 inches) and perhaps as big around as a pointer finger. Several total isolated vertebrae are known of Zilantophis schuberti, including the holotype and six paratype vertebrae. While no cranial or skull material is known, the vertebrae allow researchers to infer various things about the ancient snake's appearance, including those snakes it was most closely related to such as Lampropeltis and Pantherophis.

Vertebrae
The individual vertebrae of Zilantophis are all anteroposteriorly short, with the longest individual vertebra just over 2.5 mm long (measured through its centrum). The vertebrae are all similar, particularly in the size and shape of the overall vertebrae and, most important, in the size and shape of the neural spines on the top of the vertebral centrum and the enlarged and unique paradiapophyses which help give the snake its name. The craniocaudally shortened neural spines may have allowed more movement of the vertebral column, while the larger paradiapophyses and lateral projections (which would have allowed larger area for muscle attachment), may have allowed for stronger lateral movements of the snake's trunk.

The trunk vertebrae of Zilantophis are superficially similar to the cloacal and caudal vertebrae of numerous other snakes. Features that many other snakes possess in their cloacal and caudal vertebrae include: craniocaudally short centra, slight ventral projection of the hemal keel, smaller cotyles and condyles, wider zygosphene, large neural canal, and large paradiapophyses potentially leading to lymphapophyses. However, in several of the specimens of Zilantophis, the lateral projections are complete and intact paradiapophyses, indicative of trunk vertebrae in snakes. Additionally, although the neural spine can become craniocaudally shorter in the cloacal and caudal region in many snakes (e.g., Coluber, Pantherophis, Nerodia, Regina, Virginia) this isn't always the case (e.g., Drymarchon, Storeria), and is not completely consistent between the two main subfamilies in Colubridae (Colubrinae, Natricinae). Even within "Zilantophis schubert" there is still some craniocaudal shortening of the neural spine, although it starts out already taller and craniocaudally shorter than in most other snake taxa.

Discovery and naming
All known specimens of Zilantophis schuberti are known from the Gray Fossil Site in northeastern Tennessee, which represents an ancient sinkhole environment. This locality is located in Washington County, Tennessee. The site includes a diverse fauna of plants and animals from the late Miocene-early Pliocene. Among the herpetofauna (reptiles and amphibians) are numerous species of frogs, salamanders, turtles, alligator, and snakes. The Gray Fossil Site would have probably had a moderately dense ancient forest that would have surrounded a pond setting and served as a forest refugium among extensive grasslands, with relatively stable seasonal temperatures.

The genus Zilantophis was named in honor of the particularly large and distinct, wing-like paradiapohyses on its trunk vertebrae. Based on these wing-like projections, the antonym "Zilant" was chosen, derived from Zilant a winged serpent in Tatar mythology. "ophis" is a common synonym in reference to snakes. The type species Z. schuberti, is named after Dr. Blaine Schubert, the executive director of East Tenneessee State’s Don Sundquist Center of Excellence in Paleontology, and a professor at East Tennessee State University in the Department of Geosciences.

Classification
While a phylogenetic analysis was not run by Jasinski and Moscato (2017), some information as to the possible relationships of Zilantophis schuberti within Colurbidae can be determined based on its similarities with other known snakes. Morphologically, the vertebrae of Zilantophis are most similar to those of Pantherophis (and Bogertophis) and Lampropeltis. These have both been recovered as relatively derived colubrines in some more recent phylogenetic analyses involving Squamata.

Diet
Although Zilantophis was carnivorous, it was not a very large snake, so its options would have been somewhat limited. Although snakes are able to maneuver their lower jaws to eat relatively large prey, a snake the circumference of a pointer finger would have had to rely on smaller prey. Zilantophis was probably too small for most species of rodents, and so it may have been focusing on insects and, potentially, small fish.

Paleoecology
Due to the environment present at the Gray Fossil Site, Zilantophis is believed to have probably been living in leaf litter near this ancient pond, and would have potentially been routing around in this environment for things like insects and worms to eat. The enlarged and prominent, wing-like lateral projections on the vertebrae may have added in the lateral movements needed to root around in this type of environment. Regardless, they were small enough they would have had to be more afraid of being prey than predator.