An extinct colubrid snake of the genus Nebraskophis is reported on the basis of a trunk vertebra from the Late Eocene (36.0-34.2 Ma) of central Georgia, USA. The fossil represents the oldest record of the family Colubridae in North America, and is equivalent to, or slightly older in age than the previously oldest known colubrid remains from the Late Eocene of Thailand. The age and remarkable similarity of the fossil to living colubrid vertebrae suggest that the origin of colubrid snakes considerably predates the Late Eocene. The presence of Nebraskophis in Georgia supports the hypothesis of an early Cenozoic biogeographic connection between the Great Plains and southeastern region of the United States for at least some early colubrids. The genus probably evolved autochthonously on the continent rather than arriving as a Eurasian immigrant.
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