Patagonian Fossil Snakes Rewrite the Story of Snake Origins
A 100-million-year-old Patagonian fossil Najash rionegrina reveals that early snakes retained hind limbs for a long period and corrects a 160-year misidentification of the jugal bone, prompting researchers to rethink snake origins as stemming from large-bodied relatives rather than small burrowers and reshaping the timeline of skull and limb evolution.
