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Ming BAI / Chinese Academy of Science
The Fossil Gives a Snapshot of the how snakes have become such successful creatures
The fossil of a baby snake was discovered buried in amber.
The creature was frozen in time for 99 million years.
The snake lived in what is now Myanmar, in the time of the dinosaurs.
Scientists say the snake fossil is "incredibly rare".
"It's the very first baby snake fossil we've ever found," said Professor Michael Caldwell of the University of Alberta in Canada.
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Cheung Chung Tat
What did the Myanmar dawn snake look like?
The snake baby lived in the forests of Myanmar during the Cretaceous period. It was given the name, Xiaophis Myanmarensis or the dawn snake of Myanmar.
A second amber fossil has been discovered, which seems to contain some of the shed skin of another much larger snake. It is not known if it is a member of the same species.
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Yi LIU
The skin of a second specimen was found
How is the snake stuck in time?
The animal is stuck in the sap of trees, a sticky substance that can preserve skin, scales, fur, feathers or even whole creatures. fossils, "said Professor Caldwell.
" Amber is totally unique – everything it touches is frozen in time inside the plastic resin. "[19659024] What does the new discovery tell us about these iconic creatures?
the piece of amber, composed of 97 vertebrae plus the attached ribs.Perhaps, the head of the snake is missing.
The bones of the creatures were analyzed inside a synchrotron, extremely powerful source of X-rays, and compared to those of living serpents.
Anatomical features suggest the development of the backbone of snakes Scientists say that the snake was able to survive for tens of millions of years in a primitive state, before extinguishing it.
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Ming BAI, Chinese Academy of Sciences [19659004] Legend of the image
The snake is similar in size to living species, such as the Asian pipe snake
What do we know about where he lived?
Fragments of plants and insects found inside amber confirm that the snake lived in the forests.
This has not been shown before. The discovered fossil snakes come from rocks associated with rivers or the sea.
Dr. Ricardo Pérez-de la Fuente from the Natural History Museum of Oxford University, which does not include has no connection with the research team, said: data on ancient snakes. "
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Lida XING, Chinese University of Geosciences Beijing
The piece of amber that contains the baby snake
What's so special about amber fossils?
Myanmar is considered a treasure trove of thrilling fossil finds dating back to the Cretaceous period, between 145 and 66 million years
. , an ancient arachnid and a handful of prehistoric frogs.
The new discovery is reported in the journal Science Advances.
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