Archaeophis

Archaeophis proavus is an extinct species of marine palaeophiid snake from the Eocene of Monte Bolca, Italy. It had the highest vertebral count known among snakes, with 565 vertebrae.^[1]

Archaeophis Temporal range: Eocene
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	†Palaeophiidae
Genus:	†Archaeophis Massalongo, 1859
Species:	†A. proavus
Binomial name
†Archaeophis proavus Massalongo, 1859

Massalongo ^[2] also described a second species in the genus, A. bolcensis, but this was subsequently placed in the new genus Anomalophis.^[3] Another species, A. turkmenicus from Turkmenistan, is also thought to most likely belong to a distinct, currently undescribed genus.^[4]