#najash

[makairodonx]

Year of the Snake - Mesozoic Edition

Celebrating the Year of the Snake with Najash rionegrina, a basal snake from the Cenomanian-aged Candeleros Formation of Argentina that is highly unusual among modern ones for retaining the fully-functioning hind limbs, pelvic girdle and sacrum of its lizard-like ancestors from the middle Jurassic. The other snakes that have been flourishing around the world ever since they first evolved about 94 million years ago have lost those primitive features completely.

[daily-mspaint-paleoart]

30/01/25 Najash

[252mya]

This illustrated diorama depicts Buitreraptor in a swampy scene from the Candeleros formation in Argentina. Design by Stieven Van der Poorten sulc.us/candeleros

[local-boob]

Fig. 2. CT scan reconstructions of the articulated skull of Najesh (MPCA 500).

CITATION Garberoglio, Fernando F., Sebastián Apesteguía, Tiago R. Simões, et al. (2019). New Skulls and Skeletons of the Cretaceous Legged Snake Najash, and the Evolution of the Modern Snake Body Plan. Science Advances 5(11). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aax5833.

[si-nequal-is]

Buitreraptor trying to catch Najash.

[252mya]

Najash rionegrina

Artwork by Franz Anthony / @franzanth

The Argentinian legged snake is suspected to be among the most primitive of all snakes. It is named after the legged snake from the Bible, Nahash.

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252MYA creates custom-made artwork for private collections and editorial, scientific, or educational project.

[eternal-ataraxy]

How An Ancient Legged Snake Named Najash Is Helping Scientists Understand Reptilian Evolution

An ancient snake known as Najash rionegrina once roamed the lands of Argentina some 100 million years ago, but it didn’t slither along like

[si-nequal-is]

Buitreraptor hunting Najash, the archangel slashing serpent of Eden.