World Briefs: Four-legged fossil shows snake's origin

[Judi Lynn]

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







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[Malraiders]

1. An alive one legged snake was found in

China and scientist say that snakes did have legs at one time and some still have the genes or DNA that will cause the mutation of a leg.

I discovered that bit of info a few years ago but did not know that there were fossills that showed snakes with legsa roamed the weorld.

http://www.hoaxorfact.com/Science/snake-with-a-foot-found-in-china-facts-analysis.html

Here is a picture of the one legged mutant snake.

[cstanleytech]

2. I have a hard time picturing something that long with such short feet being an effective burrower

unless they mean through loose undergrowth and other debris on the forest floor.

[Hal_____]

3. Weird

Snakes are weird too because they shed and have poison. That's unusual for reptiles.