Tag

Snake Evolution

All articles tagged with #snake evolution

Patagonian Fossil Snakes Rewrite the Story of Snake Origins
science1 month ago

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.

37-Million-Year-Old Paradox Snake Emerges as a New Species From a Museum Drawer
science2 months ago

37-Million-Year-Old Paradox Snake Emerges as a New Species From a Museum Drawer

A 37-million-year-old snake fossil found at England’s Hordle Cliff sat in the Natural History Museum collection for more than four decades before researchers led by Dr. Georgios Georgalis identified it as a new species, Paradoxophidion richardoweni. The tiny vertebrae suggest an early caenophidian with possible aquatic adaptations and may be the oldest known relative of elephant trunk snakes, offering fresh insight into snake evolution in the British Isles.