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A Review of the Origin of Snakes

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Evolutionary Biology

Part of the book series: Evolutionary Biology ((EBIO,volume 22))

Abstract

The problem of the origin of snakes has been a central issue in herpetology ever since the innovative work of Cope (1869). Although the riddle appears to be rather easily solved if looked at from a somewhat superficial prespective, it must be admitted that an acceptable solution is no closer than at the beginning of this century, and while faith in the promise for progress of a purely observational approach vanishes, conceptual issues are more and more thrown into focus.

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  1. Paleontological Institute and Museum of the University of Zurich, CH-8006, Zurich, Switzerland

    Olivier Rieppel

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  1. Queens College of the City University of New York, Flushing, New York, USA

    Max K. Hecht

  2. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA

    Bruce Wallace

  3. New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York, USA

    Ghillean T. Prance

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Rieppel, O. (1988). A Review of the Origin of Snakes. In: Hecht, M.K., Wallace, B., Prance, G.T. (eds) Evolutionary Biology. Evolutionary Biology, vol 22. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0931-4_2

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