Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
https://hdl.handle.net/2440/134695
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Type: | Journal article |
Title: | A mid-Cretaceous embryonic-to-neonate snake in amber from Myanmar |
Author: | Xing, L. Caldwell, M.W. Chen, R. Nydam, R.L. Palci, A. Simões, T.R. McKellar, R.C. Lee, M.S.Y. Liu, Y. Shi, H. Wang, K. Bai, M. |
Citation: | Science Advances, 2018; 4(7):eaat5042-1-eaat5042-8 |
Publisher: | American Association for the Advancement of Science |
Issue Date: | 2018 |
ISSN: | 2375-2548 2375-2548 |
Statement of Responsibility: | Lida Xing, Michael W. Caldwell, Rui Chen, Randall L. Nydam, Alessandro Palci, Tiago R. Simões, Ryan C. McKellar, Michael S. Y. Lee, Ye Liu, Hongliang Shi, Kuan Wang, Ming Bai |
Abstract: | We present the first known fossilized snake embryo/neonate preserved in early Late Cretaceous (Early Cenomanian) amber from Myanmar, which at the time, was an island arc including terranes from Austral Gondwana. This unique and very tiny snake fossil is an articulated postcranial skeleton, which includes posterior precloacal, cloacal, and caudal vertebrae, and details of squamation and body shape; a second specimen preserves a fragment of shed skin interpreted as a snake. Important details of skeletal ontogeny, including the stage at which snake zygosphenezygantral joints began to form along with the neural arch lamina, are preserved. The vertebrae show similarities to those of fossil Gondwanan snakes, suggesting a dispersal route of Gondwanan faunas to Laurasia. Finally, the new species is the first Mesozoic snake to be found in a forested environment, indicating greater ecological diversity among early snakes than previously thought. |
Keywords: | Snakes; Myanmar |
Rights: | © 2018 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial License 4.0 (CC BY-NC). |
DOI: | 10.1126/sciadv.aat5042 |
Grant ID: | http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/160103005 |
Published version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aat5042 |
Appears in Collections: | Earth and Environmental Sciences publications |
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hdl_134695.pdf | Published version | 3.04 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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