Fossil Snake with Legs Found

[Richard W Travsky <rtravsky@uwyo.edu>]

Full article at

 http://www.eurekalert.org:80/releases/aaas-nfs030900.html

 Washington, D.C.- Appearing like the punchline to an evolutionary riddle,
 a new fossil snake with legs has emerged from 95 million
 year-old deposits near Jerusalem. Its sedimentary surroundings
 suggest a seafaring lifestyle for this ancient reptile, but its advanced
 anatomy could overturn a current theory about the marine origin of
 snakes. 

 This intriguing new species, dubbed Haasiophis terrasanctus in the 17
 March issue of Science, is the second limbed snake to
 come from the site of Ein Yabrud, an ancient marine environment
 broadly similar to the still, coastal waters of today's Bahamian
 reef. 

 The first such species, Pachyrhachis problematicus, plays a pivotal
 role in a scenario that places the ancestor of snakes in the sea.
 In support of Pachyrhachis' position at the base of the serpent
 family tree, some paleontologists have noted features in its skull that
 they believe single it out as a transitional link between
 mosasaurs--gigantic swimming lizards of the Cretaceous (144-65 million
 years ago)--and true snakes. This view contrasts dramatically with the
 traditional view of small terrestrial or burrowing lizards as snake
 ancestors.