World Briefs: Four-legged fossil shows snake's origin
World Briefs: Four-legged fossil shows snake's origin
Published1 hour ago
MIAMI • A fossil of a four-legged snake uncovered in Brazil has shed new light on the origins of snakes as land burrowers, not sea creatures, a study said.
This ancestor of modern- day snakes is the first of its kind and was found in Brazil's Crato Formation.
"The newly-discovered species Tetrapodophis amplectus, which lived during the early Cretaceous 146 million to 100 million years ago, maintains many classic snake features," the study, led by British and German scientists, said on Thursday. Its lack of a long, flattened tail distinguished it from aquatic animals.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
http://www.straitstimes.com/world/world-briefs-four-legged-fossil-shows-snakes-origin
(Short article, no more at link.)
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Tetrapodophis amplectus
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/natureplus/servlet/JiveServlet/showImage/38-3886-84551/martha+pic.jpg[/center]
Science:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/122840809
