An 80-million-year-old fossil from Brazil identified a new snake species, Tametara mirim, adding rare evidence to the debate over how the first snakes lived and evolved.
CT scans of the small specimen—about 16.5 inches long—showed a thick skull, enlarged inner-ear structure and weakly developed vision region, pointing to an underground, burrowing lifestyle.
That profile contrasts with Dinilysia patagonica, a roughly 7-foot snake from about 90 million years ago whose anatomy suggests it lived on the land surface.
The Nature study argues early snakes were not following a single path from one habitat, but had already diversified in brain structure, sensory function and lifestyle during the age of dinosaurs.