This hatchling snake captured in amber is described as a new species named Xiaophis myanmarensis.
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First Baby Snake From Dinosaur Era Found in Amber
The delicate fossil is also the oldest known snake that lived in a forested ecosystem.
A delicate baby snake with a remarkably well-preserved skeletal structure is the first of its kind ever found fossilized in amber. At 99 million years old, the fossil is also the oldest snake known from a forested environment, paleontologists revealed today in the journal Science Advances.
The authors named the new species of snake Xiaophis myanmarensis. It’s likely related to some modern groups of snakes found in Southeast Asia, including nonvenomous Asian pipe snakes and sunbeam snakes, says study leader and National Geographic Explorer Lida Xing of the China University of Geosciences.
“No one has ever seen a fossilized baby snake of any kind whatsoever. And having this one be nearly a hundred million old is really quite amazing,” says
