Re: Genetic Study Shows Snake Evolution

[Pluto77189@aol.com]

Look at all the legless lizards, and the lizards that are nearly legless--all 
terrestrial.  Just like some dinosaurs were probably secondarily flightless, 
some reptiles--maybe even some snakes--are secondarilary legless.

If you mean they lost their limbs, re-evolved them and lost them again, well 
that's certainly a novel suggestion...

Good catch, I have been reading GSP's book, so "secondarily flightless" is on 
my mind.  I meant that they might NOT be monophyletic, as in snakes might have 
evolved leglessness many times, and possibly snakes are not all decended from 
one, single ancestor.  the reasoning is that leglessness seems to be pretty 
common in lizards, and in various forms. 

of course, I'm simply throwing out ideas, for all I know, genetic evidence 
might just prove snakes al come from a single ancestor.