Earliest dolichosaur found in Japan

[bh480@scn.org]

From: Ben Creisler bh480@scn.org

This news item may be of interest:
http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/news/20040702p2a00m0dm013000c.htm
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World's oldest fossil of snake ancestor found in Japan
KANAZAWA -- The world's oldest fossil of the ancestor of 
snakes has been found in an about 130-million-year-old 
stratum in Japan, researchers said Friday.
The fossil of dolichosauridae, an ancient reptile believed 
to be the ancestor of snakes, was found in a stratum that 
used to be located along a river in the Ishikawa 
Prefecture village of Shiramine, according to a research 
team led by the Ishikawa Prefectural Board of Education.
This is the first time that a fossil of dolichosauridae 
has been found in a stratum in Asia. All the other fossils 
of dolichosauridae have been found in about 65- to 99-
million-year-old strata that used to be in the sea in 
Europe.
The latest discovery suggests that dolichosauridae may 
have evolved into snakes in Asia. It has been widely 
believed that dolichosauridae evolved into snakes after 
their legs degenerated while swimming in shallow European 
seas.
The fossil was found from a rock dug out during 
construction works on a tunnel in Shiramine in May 2001, 
according to the research team.
After examining the fossil, the researchers concluded that 
it was the fossil of a 40- to 50-centimeter-long and 3-
centimeter-thick body of dolichosauridae and its thighbone.
National Science Museum senior researcher Makoto Manabe, 
who leads the research team, recognized that it was a new 
species of dolichosauridae after concluding it was 
slightly different from those whose fossils were earlier 
found in Europe.
Manabe is preparing to give a scientific name to the 
dolichosauridae the team discovered, and write a paper on 
the finding. (Compiled from Mainichi and wire reports, 
Japan, July 2, 2004)