Laophis (From Ancient Greek, stone snake)[1] is a genus of viperid snake currently containing one known species that lived during the Pliocene in Northern Greece.[2] Few fossil vertebrae of this species was found in Thessaloniki, Greece.[3] It reached a total length possibly exceeding 4 m (13 ft)[2] and a mass of up to 26 kg (57 lb), making this perhaps the largest viper discovered yet.[4][2] Originally described by Sir Richard Owen, the original fossils had been lost, until rediscovery of a single vertebra was discovered somewhere near Thessaloniki in 2014.[5][6]
