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A remarkable baby snake embryo was discovered enclosed in amber 99 million years ago.
Found in Myanmar, the tiny fossil is described as unique in a study published in the journal Science Advances. The remains, supplemented by a fragment of skin, provide "new important data points in our understanding of the patterns and processes of snake evolution," the authors wrote.
Paleontologists from the University of Alberta conducted the study. involved an international team of researchers. According to Folio, scanners were used to compare the prehistoric snake to its modern counterparts.
THE NEW VENOMIC SERPENTS DISCOVERED
Scientists say that the embryo provides valuable data on the evolution of modern snakes. light on the prehistoric environment. "The new species is the first Mesozoic snake to be found in a wooded environment, indicating greater ecological diversity among early snakes than previously thought," the researchers say in the study.
The Mesozoic era of dinosaurs, "or" the age of reptiles, "stretched from about 252 million years ago to about 66 million years ago. , according to LiveScience.
Snakes roam on Earth for about 167 million years.
Although the skull is not preserved, the remaining parts of the skeleton show "significant similarities" with other Cretaceous serpents in the prehistoric supercontinent of Gondwana, which will later become part of Pangea.
"We also describe a second specimen of amber containing a large fragment of integument, perhaps a piece of skin shed, considered here as a snake and a much larger animal," explained the study. "These new snake remains add a significant biological component to an already diverse fauna of vertebrate fossils with rare rare bodies of amber deposits from northeastern Myanmar."
SERIE DE RARE SNAKES IN THE REAR YARD [19659003] Snakes have been in the news recently, with scientists in Australia stumbling over a new species of very venomous snake.
A rare two-headed snake was also discovered in the # 39, backyard of a family from New Orleans.
James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers
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