Plio-Pleistocene Amphibians And Reptiles From Central Turkey: New Faunas And Faunal Records With Comments On Their Biochronological Position Based On Small Mammals Author Syromyatnikova, Elena A. A. Borissiak Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Profsoyuznaya ul. 123, 117647 Moscow, Russia; e-mails: esyromyatnikova @ gmail. com, sev @ paleo. ru. & Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya emb. 1, 199034 St. Petersburg, Russia. Author Tesakov, Alexey Geological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pyzhevsky per. 7, 119017 Moscow, Russia; e-mail: tesak @ ginras. ru. tesak@ginras.ru. Author Mayda, Serdar Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Ege University, Bornova, 35100 Izmir, Turkey; e-mail: serdar. mayda @ ege. edu. tr. & Ege University, Natural History Museum, 35100 Bornova-Izmir, Turkey. serdar.mayda@ege.edu.tr. Author Kaya, Tanju Ege University, Natural History Museum, 35100 Bornova-Izmir, Turkey. Author Saraç, Gerçek Sunar Sokak No: 3 / 3 Yenimahalle-Ankara, Turkey. text Fossil Imprint 2019 2019-12-30 75 3 - 4 343 358 http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/if-2019-0022 journal article 10.2478/if-2019-0022 2533-4069 5381828 Amphisbaenia indet. Text-fig. 6a M a t e r i a l. One vertebra, EUNHM PV-13238, Nasrettinhoca 1, early Pliocene, MN 14. d1 d2 d3 d4 d5 Text-fig. 6. Squamates: a – vertebra of Amphisbaenia indet. from Nasrettinhoca 1, in dorsal (a1), ventral (a2), lateral (a3), anterior (a4), and posterior (a5) views, EUNHM PV-13238; b – right maxilla of Lacertidae indet. from Nasrettinhoca 1, in lateral (b1) and medial (b2) views, EUNHM PV-13239; c – cervical vertebra of Natrix sp. from Hamamkarahisar B, in dorsal (c1), ventral (c2), lateral (c3), anterior (c4), and posterior (c5) views, EUNHM PV-13240; d – trunk vertebra of Natricinae indet. from Nasrettinhoca 2, in dorsal (d1), ventral (d2), lateral (d3), anterior (d4), and posterior (d5) views, EUNHM PV-13241; e – vertebra of cf. Colubrinae indet. from Yenişarbademli, in ventral (e1), dorsal (e2), and anterior (e3) views, EUNHM PV-13262. Scale equals 1 mm. D e s c r i p t i o n. The presacral vertebra is small (centrum length about 1.5 mm ) with a centrum that is almost compressed dorsoventrally. The lateral margins of the centrum are almost parallel and divergent anteriorly. The ventral surface of the centrum bears two distinct subcentral foramina. The cotyles and condyles are oval in shape. The neural canal is semicircle in anterior and posterior views and its height is slightly lower than the height of the cotyle. The neural arch is almost smooth dorsally without a neural crest. The arch has a sinusoid shape in lateral aspect, gradually rising towards the posterior end. The anterior edge of the neural arch is deeply convex. The pre- and postzygapophyses are missing (except for a small fragment of the left prezygapophysis). R e m a r k s. The vertebra is too fragmentary to provide any details of their morphology (i.e. morphology of prezygapophyses and synapophyses). The visible features of the specimen generally correspond to those of Anguidae (and Anguis ) based on a dorsoventrally compressed centrum and lateral margin of the centrum, which are almost parallel in ventral view ( Klembara 1982 , Čerňanský et al. 2019 ). However, Anguidae are characterized by the vertebrae having a clear neural spine and generally a larger size. The specimen from Nasrettinhoca 1 lacks a neural spine, its arch has a sinusoidal shape in lateral view, with a convex anterior edge in dorsal view, which support referral to an amphisbaenian ( Estes 1983 ). Amphisbaenia is widely distributed in modern day Turkey where the Blanus strauchi species complex is known ( Sindaco et al. 2014 ). Though the record from Nasrettinhoca 1 probably belongs to Blanus (and to Blanus strauchi species complex), the poor preservation of the material prevents precise identification.