113-million-year-old oldest ancestor of snake first with 4 legs ever
seen – proof of Torah account that serpent originally walked upright?
Scientists have long scoffed at the Torah account of how the serpent
in the Garden of Eden walked upright before being cursed, but a newly
found 113-million-year-old fossil proves that snakes indeed once had
four legs.
Back in the first days after Creation, the Torah relates how G-d cursed the serpent for deceiving Eve into eating from the Tree of Knowledge, saying, “upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life” (Genesis 3:14). Several traditional commenters theorize that the first snakes may have had limbs.
The new 19.5 cm long fossil, dubbed Tetrapodophis amplectus and revealed by BBC on Friday, indicates that snakes indeed once had means of not just “eating dust.”
While several previous finds had hind limbs, this is the first with four legs and is thought to be the oldest direct ancestor of current snakes.
The legs of the new first find are small and likely weren’t used for full walking, but could have been used to grab prey and burrow. According to experts, the fossil was apparently in a stage of adaption, indicating previous versions likely used their legs to walk.
Dr. Nick Longrich of the University of Bath, an author in a new study on the find published in Science, told BBC about the amazing discovery.
The front legs were just four millimeters long, and the hind ones seven millimeters, but the doctor made clear they weren’t just “vestigial” evolutionary leftovers.
Back in the first days after Creation, the Torah relates how G-d cursed the serpent for deceiving Eve into eating from the Tree of Knowledge, saying, “upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life” (Genesis 3:14). Several traditional commenters theorize that the first snakes may have had limbs.
The new 19.5 cm long fossil, dubbed Tetrapodophis amplectus and revealed by BBC on Friday, indicates that snakes indeed once had means of not just “eating dust.”
While several previous finds had hind limbs, this is the first with four legs and is thought to be the oldest direct ancestor of current snakes.
The legs of the new first find are small and likely weren’t used for full walking, but could have been used to grab prey and burrow. According to experts, the fossil was apparently in a stage of adaption, indicating previous versions likely used their legs to walk.
Dr. Nick Longrich of the University of Bath, an author in a new study on the find published in Science, told BBC about the amazing discovery.
The front legs were just four millimeters long, and the hind ones seven millimeters, but the doctor made clear they weren’t just “vestigial” evolutionary leftovers.
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