Fossil snakes of the Penny Creek Local Fauna from Webster County, Nebraska, USA, and the first record of snakes from the Early Clarendonian (12.5 - 12 Ma) of North America Author Jacisin Iii, John J. Author Lawing, A. Michelle text Palaeontologia Electronica 2024 a 2 27 1 1 42 http://dx.doi.org/10.26879/1220 journal article 10.26879/1220 1094-8074 10962250 Genus CHARINA Gray, 1849 Diagnosis. As diagnosed in Head (2015) , Charina possesses a lobate neural spine that is laterally expanded similar to other Charinainae, and the pterapophyses are anteriorly directed in caudal vertebrae ( Kluge, 1993 ; Szyndlar, 1994 ). Charina also exhibits a non-U-shaped zygosphene in dorsal view, a strongly concave zygosphene in anterior view, a relatively depressed neural arch, an incised posterior edge of the neural arch, and no paracotylar foramina ( Holman, 2000 ). Remarks. The fossils described here are similar in size and morphology to known species of Charina . The longer neural spine, the V-shaped (dorsal), strongly concave (anterior) zygosphene, and the depressed neural arch with a relatively deeply incised posterior edge suggest that these vertebrae do not belong to the genus Lichanura ; however, it should be noted that Bell and Mead (1996) have observed some intraspecific variation in these characters. As in Parmley and Walker (2003) , we instead attribute this fossil to the genus Charina based on the relative length of the neural spine, which is greater than that of Lichanura , and the lack of juvenile characteristics despite being relatively small in size. Parmley and Walker (2003) have observed that Lichanura of a similar size show juvenile characteristics such as a short, high overall morphology, thin neural arch, thin and highly arched zygosphene, exceptionally short neural spine, enlarged neural canal, and a condyle that appears too large for the centrum, none of which are visible in this specimen.