Ancient Serpent with Legs: The 95-Million-Year-Old Skull That Rewrites Snake Evolution Forever
Ever wonder what a snake with legs might have looked like? Well, thanks to a jaw-droppingly well-preserved 3D skull discovered back in 2013 by a bright undergrad from Buenos Aires, we’re peeking into the not-so-slithery past of an ancient land-based serpent named Najash rionegrina. Imagine a snake keeping its hind legs while showing off a skull that’s basically a time capsule revealing the evolutionary quirks that turned these creatures into the legless hunters we know today. It’s like finding the evolutionary “missing link” with a twist — who knew snakes once rocked hind legs before fully committing to the limbless lifestyle? This find is not just a fossil; it’s a story of adaptation and survival written in bone, and it’s making scientists rethink snake evolution altogether. Trust me, it’s a fascinating detour from the typical snake tale you thought you knew! LEARN MORE
It’s the first full 3D skull of a land-based snake species that sported hind legs.
Fernando Garberoglio, et alThe well-preserved skull of Najash rionegrina, an ancient hind-legged serpent.
It’s not every day that aspiring scientists stumble upon something groundbreaking, but it happens. In February 2013, Fernando Garberoglio — then still an undergraduate paleontology student from the Universidad de Buenos Aires — found a 95-million-year-old skull of an ancient snake.
Even more impressive? The artifact was a full snake skull in extremely well-preserved condition.
As chronicled by researchers Alessandro Palci and Michael Caldwell, who published a study on the skull with Garberoglio, the discovery was a significant find that provided archaeologists with the missing pieces to further study an ancient snake species known as Najash rionegrina.
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