Research suggests snakes even older

(ANSA) - Rome, January 27 - Snakes could be 70 million years older than previous thought, based on the discovery of four new types of the reptiles, according to research by Canadian scientists and published in the latest edition of research journal Nature Communications.
    The team from the University of Alberta, led by Michael Caldwell, say their research shows the oldest snakes on earth date back as far as between 140 to 167 million years ago.
    That exceeds earlier dating of snakes' ancestors by 70 million years.
    The researchers based their findings on the identification of four new species of snakes from England, Portugal and the United States, and concluded that the reptiles originated when most others of their species were in an earlier form.
    The newest findings suggest these snakes, in their prehistoric form, already had similar features to their modern heirs including sharp teeth.
    Other features in the skulls of ancient snakes suggest the heads evolved before the rest of the body which stretched and eventually lost its legs, differentiating snakes from lizards.