Prehistoric snake bones from Zuojiang River Basin, Guangxi, China

Based on the morphological studies on the snake bones discovered in the Neolithic sites from the Zuojiang River Basin, Chongzuo, Guangxi, China, three extant snake species attributed to three different genera and three families have been identified: Elaphe moellendorffi (Boettger, 1886), Ophiophagus hannah (Cantor, 1836), and Python bivittatus Kuhl, 1820. Multiple linear regression of four vertebral measurements against the body size for extant specimens using an allometric model indicates a minimum snout-vent length of 3 882.5 mm, total body length of 4 578.7 mm for the largest vertebra of the Neolithic P. bivittatus found in this region. The result indicates a similar herpetofauna between the Neolithic period and current southwest Guangxi, in addition to a potential snake hunting lifestyles of pre-historical humans from the Zuojiang River basin.