Coniophis

alt=Coniophis sp. snake vertebra|thumb|Coniophis sp. vertebra Coniophis is an extinct genus of snakes from the late Cretaceous period. The type species, Coniophis precedes, was about 7 cm long and had snake-like teeth and body form, with a skull and a largely lizard-like bone structure. It probably ate small vertebrates, such as lizards and salamanders. The fossil remains of Coniophis were first discovered at the end of the 19th century in the Lance Formation of the US state of Wyoming, and were described in 1892 by Othniel Charles Marsh. For the genus Coniophis, a number of other species have been described. Their affiliation is, however, poorly secured, mostly based on vertebrae descriptions from only a few fossils.

== Fossil distribution == Fossils of Coniophis have been found in: Cretaceous Milk River and Frenchman Formations, Canada (Alberta, Saskatchewan) Intertrappean Beds, India Wadi Milk Formation, Sudan United States Hell Creek Formation, Montana Fruitland Formation, New Mexico Naturita, Cedar Mountain, Straight Cliffs, Kaiparowits and Wahweap Formations, Utah Lance Formation, Wyoming Paleocene Santa Lucía Formation (Tiupampan), Bolivia Jbel Guersif Formation, Morocco Fort Union Formation, Montana, United States Eocene Itaboraí Formation, Brazil France Aït Ouarhitane Formation, Morocco United States Chadron Formation, North Dakota Bridger, Wagon Bed and Wasatch Formations, Wyoming