Dinilysia
Encyclopedia
Dinilysia is an extinct genus
of snake
from the Late Cretaceous
(Coniacian
) of South America
. The snake reached a length of 6-10 feet (1.8-3 meters) and preyed on smaller animals. The shape of the animal's skull doesn't support the suggestion that snakes were burrowers during their ancestry; it is clear that Dinilysia was terrestrial.
website, Dinilysia was the snake that appeared in the final episode of the 1999 documentary series Walking with Dinosaurs
. The creature was live-acted by a modern day red-tailed boa. However, the episode in question was set in North America
, and Dinilysia lived some 20 million years before Tyrannosaurus and lived in South America.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
from the Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous period is divided in the geologic timescale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous series...
(Coniacian
Coniacian
The Coniacian is an age or stage in the geologic timescale. It is a subdivision of the Late Cretaceous epoch or Upper Cretaceous series and spans the time between 89.3 ± 1 Ma and 85.8 ± 0.7 Ma...
) of South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. The snake reached a length of 6-10 feet (1.8-3 meters) and preyed on smaller animals. The shape of the animal's skull doesn't support the suggestion that snakes were burrowers during their ancestry; it is clear that Dinilysia was terrestrial.
In popular culture
According to supplementary material posted online at the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
website, Dinilysia was the snake that appeared in the final episode of the 1999 documentary series Walking with Dinosaurs
Walking with Dinosaurs
Walking with Dinosaurs is a six-part documentary television miniseries that was produced by BBC, narrated by Kenneth Branagh, and first aired in the United Kingdom, in 1999. The series was subsequently aired in North America on the Discovery Channel in 2000, with Branagh's voice replaced with that...
. The creature was live-acted by a modern day red-tailed boa. However, the episode in question was set in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, and Dinilysia lived some 20 million years before Tyrannosaurus and lived in South America.