Abstract
Herpetofauna, particularly amphibians and reptiles, exhibit high levels of endemism and distinct diversity pattern on Taiwan island. However, the biogeographic history of these groups remains obscure, in part due to the lack of a herpetofaunal fossil record. Here, we report the first fossil record of frogs and snakes from Taiwan, based on Middle Pleistocene vertebrate assemblage recovered from the Chochen–Tsailiao area in southern Taiwan. The collection includes a vertebra of a bufonid frog and multiple vertebrae of colubrid and viperid snakes. Despite their fragmentary preservation, several vertebrae are identifiable, including a toad ( Duttaphrynus melanostictus ), rat snakes ( Elaphe sp., Ptyas mucosa , and P. cf. mucosa ), a wolf snake ( Lycodon rufozonatum ), and a pit viper ( Protobothrops sp.). Additional vertebrae are attributed to Alethinophidia indet. The preservation of these delicate skeletal elements in a tectonically active and humid subtropical setting highlights the exceptional nature of this discovery. Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction based on ecological preferences of extant analogues suggests that the region supported a humid fluvial and open woodland environment with abundant water bodies.
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ARPHA Preprints
https://doi.org/10.3897/arphapreprints.e165131 (16 Jul 2025)
https://doi.org/10.3897/arphapreprints.e165131 (16 Jul 2025)
Published in: Fossil Record https://doi.org/10.3897/fr.28.164568
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ARPHA Preprints
doi:
10.3897/arphapreprints.e165131
First posted
16 Jul 2025
Authors
Chien-Hsiang Lin
- Corresponding author
Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
Department of Life Science, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan
Department of Petroleum Geology, Exploration & Development Research Institute, Miaoli, Taiwan
Wild Animals Division, Taiwan Biodiversity Research Institute, Nantou, Taiwan
Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun, India
Ningthoujam Premjit Singh
- Corresponding author
Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun, India
Conflict of interest
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Supporting agencies
National Science and Technology Council, Taiwan
Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
This is an open access preprint distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
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