Museum paleontologist Brad Riney recently discovered the partial skeleton of a large fossil snake at a City of San Diego construction project. The specimen consists of a disarticulated skull, vertebrae, and ribs. Preliminary study suggests that the snake is an extinct species related to modern boas of the family Boidae and probably measured close to 8 feet in length when alive. This unusual fossil was discovered in a mudstone stratum within the Friars Formation, a 45 million year old fluvial deposit. The stratum was exposed by excavation equipment working to build a section of the State Route 56 freeway alignment between Rancho Penasquitos and Carmel Valley.

1. Ptyergoid   2. Palatine jaw with teeth   3. Lower left jaw
4. Rib bones   5. Maxilla with teeth   6. Vertebrae