A new study claims that the first four-legged snake known to science may be a different beastie.
The researchers of the study found that the dolichosaur, a marine lizard with an extended body, lived during the Cretaceous Period.
A new team of researchers studied the remains of the creature, which is known as Tetrapodophis amplectus, and found that it doesn't have the same features as a snake.
The original study didn't include any Brazilian researchers, despite a Brazilian law stating that their country's researchers need to be included.
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The weird 4-legged snake was a transitional creature.
Two 2016 studies in the journal Cell31069-7 suggested that snakes lost their limbs about 150 million years ago due to genetic defects, and other research has found fossil evidence of a two-legged snake. The only four-legged snake fossil on record is the one announced in the journal Science.
Live Science previously reported that a study in 2015 suggested that the four limbs of the Tetrapods were used for grasping partners during sex and hunting 120 million years ago. The researchers said that this animal was part of the shift from lizards to snakes.
The interpretation of the fossil didn't sit well with the co-author of the new study. They flew to Germany to do their own evaluation of the privately owned fossil, which was on display at the Solnhofen Museum.
There are new findings.
The new study found that the skull of the reptile was more lizard-like than serpent. Most of the skull's bones were crushed like eggshells, with pieces of skull shattered on one slab and the natural mold of the skull on the counterpart, according to Caldwell. The counterpart of the skull was completely ignored by the original authors. There are lizards in the natural mold, not snakes.
The researchers found that the body of the reptile was not like a snake. The skinny fossil of the snake is missing the stabilizing systems in the vertebrae that help a snake slither back and forth, and it has long, straight ribs, which indicates that it was a swimmer, not a burrower. "Burrowing creatures are long and tubular," he said.
The study co-author said that dolichosaurs are related to snakes. The researchers said that it was no surprise that the original authors thought of the snake as a reptile.
It is not an open-and-shut case. "Tetrapodophis is a fantastic fossil, showing a unique combination of features not seen in any other squamate," said Bruno Gonalves Augusta, an associate researcher at the Museum of Zoology. He said that some of the conclusions drawn from the fossil counterpart should be handled with caution.
I don't think it's a reliable source of information to say that the quadrate [skull bone] is a mold since the actual bone is not preserved on the fossil.
The fossil is not available to other scientists because it is privately owned. He said that it is not possible to properly study the specimen anymore.
Part and Counterpart of the same thing. Michael Caldwell is the image credit.
There is an ethical quandary.
The original researchers are standing by their interpretation of the fossil, which they believe shows that the snake is the oldest and most primitive snake.
The fossil was excavated in the 1970s and the following decades. The decree law of 1942 states that paratypes can only be exported from Brazil and that the first specimen of a new species must stay in Brazil. The Brazilian Federal Police have launched an investigation into the provenance of Tetrapods because they are highly suspect.
"We'd be happy to see the fossil returned to Brazil, but it was not our fossil, and therefore not our decision to make," said Martill. The law surrounding fossil exports from Brazil wasn't always enforced in the 70s and 80s, which the new team says is no excuse for violating the law.
If Brazil doesn't burn its museums down, I have no problem with these fossils going back to Brazil. The Museum of Natural History in Rio had a huge tragedy when it burned down.
The new study's authors said that it was unlikely that the fire played a role in this case. "I have a hard time believing that Dr. Martill was predicting future museum fires while standing in a private museum in Solnhofen for the first time two or three years before his paper was published," said Caldwell.
The fossil's return to Brazil was supported by others.
"I agree with the authors that it is important to return the fossil to a public research institute in Brazil," Augusta said. Fossils are a significant part of a country's heritage, and they should be available for any scientific study, which is not the case at the moment.
Live Science published the original article.
