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This happened in Myanmar, when a group of paleontologists accidentally gave a historical result: a piece of Amber containing the first known snake baby fossil that had remained 99 million years in the resin. A snake of the era of the dinosaurs
The fossil is extremely small, lacks the head and measures approximately 47.5 millimeters long. According to paleontologist Michael Caldwell of the University of Alberta:
Although it's a baby, there are unique features of the superior vertebrae that n & # 39; 39, had never been observed before in other fossil snakes of the same type
. , the researchers named the new species Xiaophis myanmarensis and believe that it is related to some modern snakes in Southeast Asia. According to the paleontologist:
The Xiaophis inscribed in the base of the family tree of the snake, and in a group of snakes that seem to be very old. It is clear that this little snake lived in a wooded environment with many insects and plants. Not only do we have the first snake baby, we also have the first definitive evidence of a fossil snake living in a forest.
Caldwell explained to the media that this is one of the first snake baby fossils found in history, so does it that it also has 99 million years is part of its charm. Because of the way normal fossils are created, small snakes would be crushed and separated in sedimentary rock. In fact, and according to the researchers, he was happy that it was really trapped in amber.
However, the good thing about this little snake is not just what we know about it. This also brings a series of interesting questions. According to Caldwell:
It is not clear whether these primitive snakes gave life or not, which is common in modern snakes, or where they hatched eggs. I can not tell if it was still in the bud, and it broke and the little one was trapped in an amber bubble, or just hatched. [Image: L Xing et al./Science Advances 2018]
Whatever the case may be, Myanmar seems to be a good place to find ancient creatures trapped in amber. In June, researchers found a small frog of the same period, making it the oldest direct evidence of frogs in a rainforest.
Not only that. They also found birds, a chameleon, a "vampire" ant and even a small duster of dinosaur feathered with amber. Therefore, and considering all these incredible discoveries, it is probably not the last time we hear about the findings of Amber in Myanmar. [National Geographic]
