Madtsoia

Madtsoia
Temporal range: Possible Coniacian/Santonian and Late Oligocene records
Holotype of M. bai (AMNH 3154), American Museum of Natural History
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Madtsoiidae
Genus: Madtsoia
Simpson, 1933
Species
  • M. bai Simpson, 1933 (type)
  • M. camposi Rage, 1998
  • M. madagascariensis Hoffstetter, 1961
  • M. pisdurensis Mohabey et al, 2011

Madtsoia is an extinct genus of madtsoiid snakes. It is known from the Eocene of Argentina (M. bai), the Paleocene of Brazil (M. camposi), the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of India (M. pisdurensis), and the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of Madagascar (M. madagascariensis). The type species (M. bai) was the largest with an estimated length of 9–10 m (30–33 ft), and the other three species were smaller. A 5.1 m (17 ft) long M. madagascariensis would have weighed 50 kg (110 lb), but an isolated specimen suggests that this species reached 8 m (26 ft) in maximum length.

Madtsoia length estimates
Species Length
M. bai9–10 m (30–33 ft)
M. camposi5–6 m (16–20 ft)
M. madagascariensis5.1–8 m (17–26 ft)
M. pisdurensis5 m (16 ft)