Did Snakes Used to Have Legs?

Snakes used to wander the Earth on legs about 150 million years ago, before they shifted from strut to slither. Now, two scientists have pinpointed the genetic process that caused snakes to lose their legs.

Did snakes originally have legs?

A species of ancient snake had hind limbs for around 70 million years before losing them, scientists have discovered. This shows these creatures lived successfully with legs for a very long time before developing the characteristic body shape seen today—adding to the complicated story of snake evolution.

When did snakes lose legs?

It's thought that snakes lost their legs 100 to 150 million years ago, but debate is still raging as to whether their limbed ancestors were aquatic or terrestrial. The evolution of a long, legless body could be beneficial to life underwater as it would enable eel-like swimming.