Prehistoric four-legged snake discovered

Even though primitive snakes with partially formed hind legs have been discovered before, this particular specimen is very unusual because it features a full set of four limbs.

"It has very snake-like vertebrae, it has a body longer than the tail, it has hundreds of vertebrae, it has the remains of other vertebrate animals in the stomach and so it was a carnivore," said palaeontologist David Martill. "All these things make it a snake."

The legs however are very small and were unlikely to have served much of a functional purpose.

Some scientists now believe that this peculiar specimen points to the likelihood that snakes evolved from burrowing lizards, making Tetrapodophis a unique transitional species between the two.

There is however much disagreement over whether this is actually the case.

"I honestly do not think the fossil represents the remains of a snake," said palaeontologist Michael Caldwell. "It completely lacks key features of the vertebral column that would make it a squamate [scaled reptile] and more specifically a snake."

"I think the specimen is important, but I do not know what it is."