Snakes Prehistoric Ancestors Likely Evolved On Land; Had Toes And Feet

Snakes may have toes and feet and they likely evolved on land, according to a new study. The study added that the 3,400 modern species existing today may have the same prehistoric progenitor with real toes and ankles.

Researchers concluded that the ancestral protosnake was a nocturnal hunter that slithered across the forest floor about 120 million years.

"Having that tree as a backbone let us draw a ton of conclusions for what the ancestral snake would have been like," said Daniel J. Field, a doctoral candidate in evolutionary biology and an author of the study.

Researchers evaluated the collected data by using genetic sequencing using fossils and added to it to the anatomical comparison of 73 lizard and snake species. Yale Researchers believe that during the process they have created the most complete snake "family tree ever yet."

Researchers further added that ancestral snake had needle-like hooked teeth that it used to grab small, rodent-like critters, which it then swallowed whole.

"I was most amazed by how strongly we inferred that the common ancestor retained hind limbs," Field said.

 "Sometimes evolution plays out in unexpected and strange ways," he added. "We think we've got a strongly supported idea, and based on the mathematical reconstruction it is what is most likely to be true."

The study was published in the journal BMC Evolutionary Biology.