In the state of Wyoming, USA, scientists have discovered one of the most bizarre fossil specimens of all time, belonging to a new species.
The new species has been named Hibernophis breithaupti, which lived in North America 38 million years ago and has rewritten the history of snake lineages, according to a research team from the University of Alberta (Canada).
According to Sci-News, this species was identified thanks to a unique cluster of fossils excavated from the White River Formation in Wyoming, an area that once had two highly active volcanic systems.
Bizarre fossils of the newly discovered species in Wyoming, USA – (Photo: Jasmine Croghan).
The fossils of Hibernophis breithaupti resemble a mythical creature, with a complex, serpentine body made up of different-sized segments, featuring bones that are almost completely intact after tens of millions of years.
In fact, this is not a single creature but rather four individual snakes of varying sizes, intertwined into a strange mass, preserved in their position at the time of death.
According to Professor Michael Caldwell, the lead author of the study, they were preserved in a very unusual geological setting.
This occurred when a catastrophic volcanic eruption encased all four snakes in ash in an instant, nearly turning them to stone immediately.
The fine volcanic material also completely enveloped the creatures, preserving even the smallest details over time.
Surprisingly, this new species is the oldest and may also be the first of the superfamily Booidea within the suborder Serpentes, a group that includes many modern boa species.
According to the authors, modern boas are widely distributed across the Americas, but their initial evolutionary process is still not well understood.
The new species Hibernophis breithaupti could be the missing piece in this puzzle.
Details from the fossils suggest that these boas burrowed for shelter and may have been in a state of hibernation when they were buried by volcanic ash.
