This Hip Snake Could Walk! - Najash rionegrina
Here’s another newly discovered fossil from Patagonia, Argentina. What makes it special is that it’s now one of the of the most primitive snakes known, and it slithered with two legs!
Researchers say the snake’s anatomy and the location of the fossil show it lived on land, and was possibly a burrowing animal.
Scientists have long debated on whether snakes evolved from land-based or marine creatures. In general, snakes are believed to have evolved from four-legged lizards, losing their legs over time.
This snake, named Najash rionegrina, was found with a sacrum, a bony feature supporting the pelvis, that isn’t found in modern snakes. It lived an estimated 90 million years ago. Its size is unknown, but it was under 3 feet.
Researchers, Sebastián Apesteguía and Hussam Zaher, published their findings in Nature, A Cretaceous terrestrial snake with robust hindlimbs and a sacrum. You can read the abstract, and click on the link “figures and tables” to see more detailed figures.
The critter’s name comes from a Hebrew word for snake and the Rio Negro province of Argentina, where the discovery was made.
The discovery was also reported on a number of news sites, including:
CNN, Fossil suggests snakes evolved on land
New Scientist, Oldest snake fossil shows a bit of leg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Sauropsida
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Genus: Najash