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Lizard Dropped Its Tail 99 Million Years Ago, Amber Preserved Evidence

General view of the amber piece from Myanmar, arrows highlighting the debris stuck to the initial resin flow at the level of the ventral surface of the tail. Image credit: Fabrikant et al., doi: 10.26879/1706.

A tiny piece of amber from Myanmar has captured a defensive maneuver that lizards still use today: shedding part of their tail to escape a predator.

The post Lizard Dropped Its Tail 99 Million Years Ago, Amber Preserved Evidence appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

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Did Early Snakes Burrow, Swim or Crawl? 80‑Million‑Year‑Old Fossil Suggests: All Three

Life reconstruction of Tametara mirim. Image credit: Gabriel Ugueto.

Paleontologists have unearthed a remarkably preserved fossil snake in Brazil that is reshaping ideas about how the earliest snakes lived and complicating the long-running debate over whether their ancestors burrowed underground, swam in the sea or crawled the surface.

The post Did Early Snakes Burrow, Swim or Crawl? 80‑Million‑Year‑Old Fossil Suggests: All Three appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

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Oldest Known Male Gecko Found Preserved in Kachin Amber

Carinasquama rusmithii. Image credit: Daza et al., doi: 10.3897/sjp.145.188227.

Paleontologists have described a new genus and species of ancient gecko found in two pieces of amber from the 99-million-year-old (mid-Cretaceous) amber deposits in Kachin province, Myanmar.

The post Oldest Known Male Gecko Found Preserved in Kachin Amber appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

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