An article in PhysOrg ran the headline, “What did the first snakes look like?” And then there’s an artist’s rendering of a long snake with tiny feet.
Of course my first thought is, that’s so cool! According to the Bible, it was the serpent who deceived Eve, and God cursed the serpent to crawl on its belly and eat dust all the days of its life. So this crafty animal, which once walked with legs, is now relegated to crawling on its belly, and now scientists have uncovered more evidence to support the notion that snakes had legs and feet.
According to paleontologist Allison Hsiang of Yale University, the ancestor of modern snakes had already lost its forelimbs, but still had tiny hind limbs with ankles and toes. This conclusion is based on analyzing the snake genome, modern snake anatomy, and the fossil record.
This isn’t the first study I’ve seen regarding snakes with limbs. Scientists have found snake fossils with evidence of legs since before 2000, so these claims aren’t that surprising.
Although I reject any evolutionary assumptions advanced by the researchers, this study supports the Bible, and that’s what I’d expect science to do when correctly interpreted.