The oldest known snake fossil was found trapped in amber from Myanmar dating to the Cretaceous period, making it a first of its kind.
Ninety-nine million years ago a baby snake found itself trapped in a patch of sticky resin that would go on to protect the young hatchling's skeletal structure while the world around it transformed dramatically, LiveScience noted.
The ancient fossil was found in southeast Asia along with another piece of amber that is believed to contain a piece of skin from an adult snake.
Researchers said in a report that the 2-inch-long fossil, which is the first baby snake found in amber, is offering vital insight into how modern snakes have evolved over the years.
"No one has ever seen a fossilized baby snake of any kind whatsoever. And having this one be nearly a hundred million (years) old is really quite amazing," said coauthor Michael Caldwell, a fossil reptile expert at the University of Alberta, according to National Geographic.
Examining the fossil, researchers found that 97 of the baby snake's vertebrae, or backbones, were perfectly intact, and while they found many similarities with modern species, there were also several features that are no longer present in snakes today.
One key finding is the presence of V-shaped spurs of bone on the bottom of the tail vertebrae, which may have been used to stabilize snakes when they first became legless.
The head of the fossilized snake was missing, however, study co-author Michael Caldwell, a professor in the biological sciences department at the University of Alberta, said they were able to identify it as a new species, naming it Xiaophis myanmarensis, according to LiveScience.
The piece of amber containing a piece of snake skin could be just as intriguing, but researchers said because it is so small it is hard to determine whether it was shed from the same snake or from a larger snake.
"The scales are organized as one would expect in a snake or a lizard, in diagonal rows," Caldwell said, according to National Geographic. "In this particular specimen, part of what makes it more snake-like is the diamond shape of the scales. Most lizards don't show that same kind of diamond shape and pattern of overlap in the scales."
Amber has preserved many fascinating creatures over the years.
Recently researchers came across a tiny beetle also dating back 99 million years, which was found to have feathery fringes on its wing, a function that allowed the creature to glide through the air.
Small frogs dating back to the end of the Cretaceous period were also found trapped in amber, giving scientists a picture of how prehistoric frogs lived and how they have evolved since then.
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