The fossilized skeleton of the newly discovered snake species Hibernophis breithaupti, which lived 34 million years ago in what is now western Wyoming, reveals insights into the evolution and social behavior of its modern descendants. Credit: Jasmine Croghan
SciTechDaily has a story about a newly discovered fossil snake species. Hibernophis breithaupti, was discovered in western Wyoming. It lived about 34 million years ago. This new snake was described in the paper "Morphology and systematics of a new fossil snake from the early Rupelian (Oligocene) White River Formation, Wyoming", which was published in the journal Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. The species was named for Brent Breithaupt of the University of Wyoming. He is an ESCONI member, due to the recent NAPC field trip to Braceville. Congratulation, Brent!
Hibernophis breithaupti has unique anatomical features, in part because the specimens are articulated—meaning they were found all in one piece with the bones still arranged in the proper order—which is unusual for fossil snakes. Researchers believe it may be an early member of Booidea, a group that includes modern boas and pythons. Modern boas are widespread in the Americas, but their early evolution is not well understood. These new and very complete fossils add important new information, in particular, on the evolution of small, burrowing boas known as rubber boas.
Traditionally, there has been much debate on the evolution of small burrowing boas. Hibernophis breithaupti shows that northern and more central parts of North America might have been a key hub for their development. The discovery of these snakes curled together also hints at the oldest potential evidence for a behavior familiar to us today—hibernation in groups.
