Scientists Found an 80-Million-Year-Old Snake Brain—Sort Of
Scientists reconstructed the brain of an 80-million-year-old fossil snake. Learn what it reveals about snake evolution in this guide for kids.
Scientists used micro-CT scans of a fossil skull to rebuild the shape of an ancient snake’s brain.
Quick answer: The brain was gone, but scientists found the space it once filled.
Scientists found an amazing snake fossil in Brazil. The snake lived between 75 and 85 million years ago.
They named the new species Tametara mirim.
Its brain had disappeared long ago. But the inside of its skull still held the brain’s shape—like a footprint left in soft mud.
Scientists used a powerful micro-CT scanner to look inside the fossil without breaking it. A computer then turned the scans into a three-dimensional model of the snake’s brain, nerves and inner ear.
What did the ancient snake’s brain reveal?
The shape of its brain and inner ear suggests that Tametara mirim was a burrowing snake.
It may have:
- pushed through loose soil;
- hidden in underground tunnels;
- felt tiny movements around it;
- depended less on sharp eyesight.
The researchers also studied another ancient snake that was better suited to life above ground. This means early snakes did not all live the same way.
Some may have been underground explorers. Others lived on the surface.
Why is this discovery important?
Scientists are still learning how snakes evolved long bodies, lost their legs and adapted to so many habitats.
This fossil does not solve the whole mystery. It does show that early snake evolution was more varied than scientists once believed.
Big science word — Fossil: Preserved remains or signs of a plant or animal that lived long ago.
Think like a scientist
If you lived underground, what would help you most: sharp eyes, a strong sense of smell or the ability to feel tiny movements?
Ancient snake FAQ
Did scientists find a preserved snake brain?
No. They rebuilt its shape using the empty space inside the fossil skull.
Was Tametara mirim the first snake?
No, but it belonged to an early branch of the snake family tree.
Did ancient snakes have legs?
Some early snakes had small limbs. Snake bodies changed gradually over millions of years.
Have another wild snake question? Meet the animals or bring it to an educational West Coast Exotics reptile presentation in Metro Vancouver.
Research source: Nature: Exceptional brain and ecological diversity in the earliest snakes
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