London, Feb. 16 (SANA) Researchers have identified a new extinct snake species from fossils that had long been stored in a drawer at the Natural History Museum in the United Kingdom, dating back about 37 million years.
Published in the French journal Comptes Rendus Palevol, the study examined 31 small vertebrae displaying an unusual mix of traits. The species, named Paradoxophidion richardoweni — meaning “the paradoxical snake” in honor of museum founder Richard Owen — combines features of primitive snakes with characteristics similar to modern water snakes, despite differences in time period and geography.
The fossil offers no clear evidence of whether the snake was aquatic, terrestrial or burrowing, suggesting it may represent an early transitional form in snake evolution.
The remains were first discovered in 1981 at Hordle Cliff on England’s south coast and were recently reexamined by Greek researcher Georgios Georgalis in collaboration with the museum’s scientific team.
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