'Missing link' fossil is just a common 100 million-year-old marine lizard, study reveals.
of the University of Alberta disputed the findings of a team of researchers that reported their discovery of what they believed was the first known example of a four-legged snake fossil. They dubbed it Tetrapodophis amplectus in their study published in the journal"It has long been understood that snakes are members of a lineage of four-legged vertebrates that, as a result of evolutionary specializations, lost their limbs," said Caldwell.
"If correctly interpreted based on the preserved anatomy, this would be a very important discovery," said Caldwell."There are many evolutionary questions that could be answered by finding a four-legged snake fossil, but only if it is the real deal. The major conclusion of our team is that Tetrapodophis amplectus is not in fact a snake and was misclassified."
According to the new study, the anatomy and morphology of T. amplectus were mischaracterized by the earlier research as resembling those of snakes. He noted that the original study had only described the skull and overlooked the natural mold, which had preserved features that made it clear that"Tetrapodophis did not have the skull of a snake — not even of a primitive one."
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