Abstract
Viviparity is a widespread reproductive trait in snakes, although fossil evidence bearing on its evolution is extremely sparse. Here, we report an exceptional specimen of the minute booid snake Messelophis variatus recovered in the paleolake of the Messel Formation (early-middle Eocene, Germany). This gravid female contains at least two embryos located in the posterior third of the trunk region. The morphology, size, and degree of ossification of the cranial and postcranial remains indicate they correspond with late embryos. This specimen documents the first occurrence of viviparity in a fossil snake and extends the temporal distribution of this reproductive strategy in booid snakes by over 47 Ma. The evolution of viviparity in squamates has traditionally been associated with cold climates, but its presence at the dawn of the evolution of booids during early Palaeogene thermal peaks indicates that viviparity may have evolved under different selective pressures in this clade.
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Data availability
The specimen is currently housed at the Department of Messel Research and Mammalogy, Senckenberg Research Institute, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Stephan Schaal, Anika Vogel and Sabine Köster (Senckenberg Research Institute), Claudia Koch (Alexander Koenig Museum), Mario Yánez-Muñoz (INABIO), and Patrick Campbell (London Natural History Museum) who kindly provided access to collections, CT facilities, and technical assistance during this work.
Funding
This research was funded by Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Técnica (ANPCyT PICT 2020–2443) and Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD).
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Communicated by Matthias Waltert
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Chuliver, M., Scanferla, A. & Smith, K.T. Live birth in a 47-million-year-old snake. Sci Nat 109, 56 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-022-01828-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-022-01828-3