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Oldest baby snake fossil, 99 million years old, discovered in Myanmar

Scientists have discovered the world's oldest known fossilized baby snake, which will provide clues about the species' evolution, according to a new study.

The 99-million-year-old baby snake, discovered in Myanmar, was preserved in a piece of amber, or fossilized tree resin. The new species – named Xiaophis myanmarensis – lived before Tyrannosaurus rex roamed the Earth.

The discovery suggests snakes were more ecologically diverse than previously thought and provides "exceptional and unexpected insights into the evolution of one of nature’s most successful and iconic animal groups," according to the study published Wednesday.

Paleontologist Michael Caldwell, a study co-author from the University of Alberta, said "this snake is linked to ancient snakes from Argentina, Africa, India and Australia. It is an important – and until now, missing – component of understanding snake evolution."

The study reports snakes may have moved to forested environments from underwater and coastal regions earlier than previously thought, and that the mechanism through which snakes develop their spinal bones has changed very little over millions of years, Science magazine said.

The amber fragment in which the specimen was found also provides clues about its environment.

“It is clear that this little snake was living in a forested environment with numerous insects and plants, as these are preserved in the (amber),” Caldwell said. “Not only do we have the first baby snake, we also have the first definitive evidence of a fossil snake living in a forest.”

The research was led by paleontologist Lida Xing of the China University of Geosciences in Beijing.

Caldwell said the discovery "refines our understanding of early snake evolution, as 100-million-year-old snakes are known from only 20 or so relatively complete fossil snake species. There is a great deal of new information preserved in this new fossilized baby snake.”

The study was published in Science Advances, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.