EUROPE: A team of researchers at Yale University found in a study that snakes originated nearly 128 million years ago in the warmth of Southern Hemisphere. The researchers reached the conclusion after studying fossils and anatomy of nearly six dozen modern lizard and snake species.
Around 128 million years ago, snakes originated in the warmth of Southern Hemisphere. The researchers said that the ancient snakes had small hind legs, including ankles and toes and they had lost their forelimbs.
“By analyzing the genes, fossils and anatomy of 73 different snake and lizard species, both living and extinct, we’ve managed to generate the first comprehensive reconstruction of what the ancestral snake was like”, said Allison Hsiang, study’s lead researchers.
While carrying out the comprehensive study, the researchers came up with an evolutionary family tree of the species. The team also came to know how different characteristics evolved over time. The researchers said that ancient snakes preferred hunting vertebrates and invertebrates. They used their sharp tongue to swallow the prey at one go.
Majority of ancient snakes were nocturnal, but around 50 million years back, they became diurnal. They started remaining active during the day with the emergence of Colubroidea, which has 85% of all currently living snakes.
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