[Fossils of snakes are found to have legs.] Fossil snakes are found to have legs. VIVAnews - From the latest research on the fossil snakes are estimated to have 95 million years old, revealed that there are two small leg bone connected to the hip bone of the animal. As quoted by LiveScience, February 10, 2011, fossils found in Lebanon are from an era where the snake had not lost their rear legs. Three-dimensional reconstruction of these bones will soon be conducted to help researchers understand how the snake lost his legs until it evolved. The debate warms up in the paleontologist is whether the snake-legged ancestor was a lizard that swam in water or a lizard who crawls on the ground. "A leg bone length of one inch (2.5 centimeters) seen in the fossil snake Lebanon. Unfortunately, half of the pelvis snake was buried in stone, "said Alexandra Houssaye, researchers from the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France. Snake 19 inches in length (about 50 centimeters) is a Eupodophis descouensi, which is one of three snake fossil ever found has legs. "Dismantling the stone to find one foot is not possible anymore," he said. For that, researchers will use a technique called synchrotron-radiation computed laminography (SRCL). Similar to medical CT scanning, X-ray SRCL use to describe the internal structure of an object, but with a resolution of 1,000 times higher. From scanning, visible leg hidden inside the stone bow at the knees. However, it does not have the soles of the foot and finger bones. "The structure of the foot bones are stored neatly on the stone is similar to bone structure of terrestrial lizards," said Houssaye. "However, one study alone can not determine whether this snake ancestor of animals had water or land animals," he said. However, Houssaye said the snake's anatomy bone shows that evolution has removed the snake's feet instead of changing the way bones grow. "Possibly, it grows slower foot or more shorter," he said. The experiment, according to Houssaye, is the first experiment using the technique of SRCL in the paleontological world, and still much to be analyzed. "The next step is to analyze other fossil snake vertebrae, leg observe live snakes and lizards and analyze the oldest snake fossil ever found," he said
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