The origin of snakes

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The origin of snakes

Postby Berislav Horvatic » Tue Jul 07, 2015 1:09 pm

The origin of snakes: revealing the ecology, behavior, and evolutionary history
of early snakes using genomics, phenomics, and the fossil record

Allison Y Hsiang1*, Daniel J Field12, Timothy H Webster3, Adam DB Behlke1,
Matthew B Davis1, Rachel A Racicot1 and Jacques A Gauthier14


http://www.sci-news.com/paleontology/sc ... 02819.HTML

Study Provides New Insights into Origin, Evolution of Snakes

According to a new study published online in the journal BMC Evolutionary Biology,
the most recent common ancestor of all snakes was a nocturnal, stealth-hunting
predator that had tiny hindlimbs with ankles and toes.
The results strongly suggest that snakes originated on land, rather than in the seas,
as the oldest snake fossils currently known – Coniophis, Najash, and Dinilysia – are
all terrestrial.

I've just sent the PDF file of the article to Mario, so it's on him to add it to his/our
literature database and reveal the PDF number. But the paper can be downloaded
for free anyway, at least I managed do it.
Berislav Horvatic
 
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Re: The origin of snakes

Postby Mario Schweiger » Tue Jul 07, 2015 6:02 pm

link to sci-news is not working anymore!
but the paper can be downloaded from BMC Evolutionary Biology (open access)
http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/s12862-015-0358-5.pdf
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Re: The origin of snakes

Postby Berislav Horvatic » Tue Jul 07, 2015 9:49 pm

Mario Schweiger wrote:link to sci-news is not working anymore!

Well, it worked today in the afternoon... Life is full of changes and surprises... mostly unpleasant ones.

... but the paper can be downloaded from BMC Evolutionary Biology (open access)
http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/s12862-015-0358-5.pdf

... which is the most important thing of all. So, what do you say? No more dilemma about the aquatic
vs. terrestrial origin?
Berislav Horvatic
 
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country: Croatia

Re: The origin of snakes

Postby Berislav Horvatic » Sat Jul 11, 2015 5:13 pm

So, what do you say? No more dilemma about the aquatic (marine) vs. terrestrial origin of snakes?

Sorry, just insisting on my question, which might be terribly relevant, and has obviously been ignored
by everyone "on board" (here) so far... Well, no (qualified - or whatever) opinions on an (important?)
issue like that?! I would've expected more than silence, but perhaps the interested people are on their
summer vacations...
Berislav Horvatic
 
Posts: 1132
Joined: Wed Jun 03, 2009 4:35 pm
Hometown: Zagreb
country: Croatia

Re: The origin of snakes

Postby Mario Schweiger » Sun Jul 12, 2015 8:31 am

Berislav Horvatic wrote:Sorry, just insisting on my question, which might be terribly relevant, and has obviously been ignored
by everyone "on board" (here) so far... Well, no (qualified - or whatever) opinions on an (important?)
issue like that?! I would've expected more than silence, but perhaps the interested people are on their
summer vacations...


Maybe it is important for some people, but talking on that topic needs more than a bit of knowledge on the origin of snakes.
I*'m really not familiar with that :oops:
And when remembering well (at least what I've read somewhere before a long time) snakes origin from some subterranean "varanid like" lizards, like todays Lanthanotus borneensis.
And finally, I'm nearly sure, we will hear some other hypothesis in a shorter or longer time.
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Re: The origin of snakes

Postby Berislav Horvatic » Sun Jul 12, 2015 4:00 pm

Mario Schweiger wrote:Maybe it is important for some people, but talking on that topic needs more than a bit of knowledge on the origin of snakes.
I*'m really not familiar with that :oops:
And when remembering well (at least what I've read somewhere before a long time) snakes origin from some subterranean
"varanid like" lizards, like todays Lanthanotus borneensis.
And finally, I'm nearly sure, we will hear some other hypothesis in a shorter or longer time.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake#Origins
Burrowing lizard hypothesis
Aquatic mosasaur hypothesis


Well, this paper seems to offer a possible plausible conclusion to this long-lasting debate - be it only just for the time being,
as you suggest... But maybe, just maybe (or rather, hopefully...), also the final one - actually, why not? It's not "forbidden"
to solve a scientific question once and for all, is it? (I mean, of course, some, let's say, "minor" questions like, e.g., the origin
of snakes, not the really "grand" ones like the origin of the universe and alike...)
Berislav Horvatic
 
Posts: 1132
Joined: Wed Jun 03, 2009 4:35 pm
Hometown: Zagreb
country: Croatia


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