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'Land not sea' origin for snakes
One of the most primitive snake fossils ever found hints that the slithery reptiles might have originated on land, not in the sea as has been proposed.
The animal, which lived at the same time as the dinosaurs, probably emerged from a line of burrowing reptiles that lost their legs.
Where and how snakes diverged from their legged cousins the lizards has been a mystery.
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The debate over snake origins has been complicated by the scarcity of transitional fossils (those with features in between two groups of creatures).
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18998634