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 , and the other three species were smaller. A long M. madagascariensis would have weighed , but an isolated specimen suggests that this species reached in maximum length. Juvenile Madtsoia madagascariensis may have eaten a wide array of small vertebrates, while adults likely ate a narrower range of larger taxa. Possible prey for adult M. madagascariensis would have included medium-sized crocodyliforms (e.g., adult Simosuchus clarki, subadult Mahajangasuchus insignis) as well as small theropod dinosaurs (e.g., adult Masiakasaurus knopfleri, subadult Majungasaurus crenatissimus), though such large prey would have caused injuries for the snake. In the Sarmiento Formation of Argentina, Madtsoia would have frequently eaten the more varied and abundant mammals of larger size. Madtsoia likely killed its prey by constriction.
+ Madtsoia length estimates Species Length M. bai M. camposi M. madagascariensis M. pisdurensis
Distribution
Fossils of Madtsoia have been found in:Madtsoia at Fossilworks.org
Coniacian In Beceten Formation, Niger
Campanian Laño, Spain
Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Lameta Formation, India Maevarano Formation, Madagascar
Eocene Casamayoran Sarmiento Formation, Argentina Itaboraian Las Flores Formation, Argentina and Itaboraí Formation, Brazil
References
Further reading Snakes: The Evolution of Mystery in Nature by Harry W. Greene In the Shadow of the Dinosaurs: Early Mesozoic Tetrapods by Nicholas C. Fraser and Hans-Dieter Sues
External links Madtsoia in The Paleobiology Database