Early snake — Coniophis sp.

Geologic period: Latest Cretaceous — Maastrichtian

Age: Latest Maastrichtian in the Hell Creek context.

Feeding: Not directly recorded by this vertebra.

Locomotion: Snake-like axial locomotion is inferred from broader anatomy, not from behavior preserved in this isolated bone.

Body plan: Only part of the vertebral column is preserved here.

Evidence: Smithsonian's fossil-identification guide notes that Hell Creek snakes are mainly known from vertebrae and identifies Coniophis as the named snake from the formation.

Why it matters: The vertebra shows that snakes formed part of the same ecosystems as the last non-avian dinosaurs.

Plain Language Identity: A small fossil snake known in this exhibit from an isolated vertebra.

What You Are Looking At: A single snake vertebra from the microvertebrate collection.

Ecosystem: Latest Cretaceous terrestrial and freshwater-edge ecosystem.

Preservation: Isolated fossil vertebra.

Research History: The taxonomy and anatomical interpretation of Coniophis have been debated, especially when fragmentary material from different formations has been combined.

Open Questions: Keep the exhibit's Coniophis sp. identification broad. Do not silently promote the bone to Coniophis precedens.

Source Urls: https://naturalhistory.si.edu/visit/virtual-tour/current-exhibits/deep-time-virtual-tour-fossil-list; https://www.naturalhistory.si.edu/sites/default/files/media/file/fossil-id-guide062812-accessible.pdf

Enrichment Method: SAGE curated research pass; title + scientific name + source scene matched; display reconstruction separated from evidence; provenance uncertainty retained

Scientific name: Coniophis sp.

Evidence / representation: Representative evidence-type visual; not the exact specimen.

Representative evidence-type visual; not the exact specimen.

T. rex & Triceratops: The Last American Dinosaur World.