Fossil of snake with FOUR LEGS may unravel mystery serpents evolved from lizards

Fossil of snake with FOUR LEGS may unravel mystery serpents evolved from lizards The first known fossil of a four-legged snake has been discovered by scientists who believe may help unravel the mystery how serpents lost their legs.Dr Dave Martill,from the University Portsmouth,said the fossil, which he found in a collection in German museum,showed that snakes evolved from burrowing lizards and not from marine lizards.The fossil,from Brazil,dates from Cretaceous period and 110 million years old,which he scientis ts say makes it the oldest definitive snake.Dr Martill said:It is generally accepted that snakes evol ved from liza rds at some point in the distant past.What scientists don’t know yet when they evolved,why they evol ved,and what type lizard they evolved from.This fossil answers some very important questions,for example now seems clear to us that snakes evolved from burrowing lizards,not from marine lizards.Dr artill discover ed the fossil as part of routine field trip with students to Museum Solnhofen,Germany,which has a prestigious fossil collection. Dr Longrich,who had previously worked on snake origins,A four-legged snake see med fantastic and as evolu tionary biologist,just too good to be true,it was especially interesting that was put on display in museum where anyone could see it.South America was united with Africa as part of super con tinent known Gondwana and the presence of the fossil suggests that snakes may originally have evol ved on the ancient supercontinent, and only became widespread more recently.