Oldest snake fossil found with hind legs; links its past with lizards

Earthtimes.org
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New York (US):
A team of scientists unearthed a snake fossil in Argentina with evidence of two hind legs. The find strengthens the argument that serpents evolved from lizards and suggests that they were land-based creatures and did not originate in the sea, as is believed by some scientists.
It is the first snake fossil found bearing a sacrum (pronounced 'say-crum'), i.e. a bone structure resembling a pelvis or hipbone and connecting two legs to the backbone. The leg bones suggested that the creature did use these limbs but it was not clear for what.
The team of scientists named the species Najash rionegrina, a reference to the Biblical legged snake 'Najash' and also to the place where it was found – the river Negro.
The fossil was 3 feet long and belonged to a mature creature. It was dated some 90 million years ago, the late Cretaceous period.
The Argentinean researchers said the fossil snake is the most primitive known specimen found to date because it was the only one that had hipbones.
Apr 20, 2006