2019年11月20日 · But newly discovered and well-preserved fossils of snakes, particularly snake skulls, suggest they had back legs for an extended period, according to a new study published Wednesday in the...

The earliest snakes in the fossil record go back to the Middle Jurassic, from western Europe and North America (Caldwell et al. 2015). Some of their features are ‘derived’, i.e. comparatively modern, hinting that the history of snakes goes back further than mid Jurassic.

2019年6月20日 · Until recently, the biggest prehistoric snake in the fossil record was the appropriately named Gigantophis, a late Eocene monster that measured about 33 feet from head to tail and weighed as much as half a ton. Technically, Gigantophis is classified as a "madtsoiid" snake, meaning it was closely related to the widespread genus Madtsoia.

2015年5月20日 · Among the major questions surrounding snake origins are whether snakes first arose on the Mesozoic supercontinent of Gondwana or Laurasia, whether snakes originated on land or in the sea, and whether the earliest snakes were fossorial, terrestrial, or …

2015年1月27日 · Here we report on four new species of significantly older fossil snakes (167–143 Myr ago) recognized from cranial and postcranial remains found in the United Kingdom, Portugal and the United...

A species of ancient snake had hind limbs for around 70 million years before losing them, scientists have discovered. This shows these creatures lived successfully with legs for a very long time before developing the characteristic body shape seen today—adding to the complicated story of snake evolution.

2023年6月4日 · Snakes probably came from the Mediterranean Tethys, a strip of water that existed on the planet as the continents were shifting. There’s some debate about whether snakes originated in the water or if land snakes developed on land, which means there must be some pretty cool fossil records about prehistoric snakes.

2015年5月19日 · Some 110 million years ago, long before the dinosaurs died, the most recent common ancestor of all living snakes slithered through the dense jungles of Gondwana, stalking small mammals and...

2022年8月5日 · The largest known snake in Earth’s history, as of 2009 when it supplanted Gigantophis garstini. Titanoboa dates back 58-60 million years, and the first fossils were unearthed in a coal mine in northern Colombia. Before long, the archaeologists had dug up bones from 30 snakes.

2015年5月19日 · What did the first snakes look like? The original snake ancestor was a nocturnal, stealth-hunting predator that had tiny hindlimbs with ankles and toes, according to new research. Snakes show...