Here Lizard Lizard Essay -- essays research papers fc

How the ophidian Lost Its LegsIn the article "How the Snake Lost Its Legs," Carl Zimmer wrote approximately the common theory of snake evolution is about to be questioned. totally vertebrates that live on land whether mammalian or reptilian ar known as tetrapods. In most wildcats these feet evolved into other limbs, corresponding arms for humans and into wings for birds however, the snake lost its four feet altogether. The only distinguish that snakes ever had four feet is a remaining hip located within the rib cage. Paleontologists and herpetologists alike find it difficult to retrace the ancestry of snakes. Because of their scales, eggs, and elusive features of the skull, some scientists believe that snakes are descendants of lizards. However, this still does not let off how snakes lost their legs. In 1970, a three-foot-long creature, Pachyrachis Problematicus, was discovered near Jerusalem. A Hebraic University herpetologist studied the fossil and suggested th at even though the animal looked serpentine in that respect was not enough evidence supporting the theory that it was related to snakes. In 1996, Michael Lee and Michael Caldwell studied the fossil more thoroughly. Lee stated that "The offshoot thing that youve got to do is look at every possible animal it could be related to", he and Caldwell concluded that the Pachyrachis had many snake like characteristics.(Zimmer p.32) For example, "the body is long and sinuous it has 140 vertebrae in its trunk most lizards have just 25.&q...