Loading...
The first known fossil of a four-legged snake has been discovered by a scientist on a routine field trip to a museum. Dave Martill, from the University of Portsmouth has found the fossil in a collection in a German museum. It shows snakes evolved from burrowing lizards and not from marine lizards, Dr Martill said. The fossil from Brazil dates from the Cretaceous period and is 110 million years old, making it the oldest definitive snake. It is hoped the find will help unravel the mystery of how serpents lost their legs. “What scientists don’t know yet is when they evolved, why they evolved, and what type of lizard they evolved from.”This fossil answers some very important questions, for example it now seems clear to us that snakes evolved from burrowing lizards, not from marine lizards.”Dr Martill made the discovery on a trip with students to Museum Solnhofen, which has a prestigious fossil collection.
Loading...
Post a Comment