The realm of the giant snakes is now the tropical belt of the earth – but representatives of these prominent reptiles once crawled through today’s Germany as well, as new finds from the Messel Pit make clear: paleontologists present the world’s oldest known fossils of a python species. Apparently Messelopython freyi shared her habitat around 47 million years ago with a representative of the boas who had already been discovered in Messel before. The find throws new light on the development history of the two supposedly competing giant snake families, say the scientists.
They do without limbs – the physique of snakes has become a real success model in evolution: Thousands of species now snake through many different habitats on earth. However, there are still many unanswered questions about the evolutionary career of snakes and their various groups. The evolutionary history of the two prominent strangler snake families – the boas and pythons – to which the largest snakes in the world belong is also unclear.
A primeval python is emerging
The problem with researching the evolution of snakes is the rarity of the corresponding fossils: well-preserved skeletons can only be found in a few deposits in the world. However, the Messel pit near Darmstadt is a special exception. Paleontologists have already discovered excellently preserved snake fossils in the shale. At the beginning of 2020 they reported on the species Eoconstrictor fischerithat once crawled through the ecosystem in the area of today’s Messel Pit. Based on the characteristics of the approximately two meter long snake, they identified it as an early member of the boas group.
In contrast, Krister Smith from the Senckenberg Research Institute in Frankfurt and Hussam Zaher from the University of São Paulo now report the discovery of a species of snake that they assign to the pythons. The results are based on the discovery of a complete fossil including a skull and other remains of the species. This is the earliest known evidence of a python worldwide, according to the investigations of the characteristics. According to the dates, the approximately one meter long reptile lived around 47 million years ago and thus around the same time as Eoconstrictor fischeri. The new species was baptized in the name Messelopython freyi. “With the naming we wanted to honor the paleontologist Eberhard Frey from the State Museum for Natural History Karlsruhe for his achievements in the field of paleontology,” says Smith.
Interesting coexistence
With lengths of over six meters, pythons are among the largest snakes in the world. Today the various species of these strangler snakes can be found in Africa, South and Southeast Asia and Australia. “Until now, it was unclear where the pythons have their evolutionary origin. The discovery of the new python species in the Messel pit is therefore very important evidence of its evolutionary history, ”says Smith. “At the time of the Eocene, around 47 million years ago, these snakes already existed in Europe. Our analyzes therefore give indications that they have developed here, ”says the paleontologist.
At that time, the heat-loving reptiles benefited from a particularly warm climate phase. However, the strangler snakes were probably missing on the European continent for a few million years. Only in the Miocene – between 23 and 5 million years ago – were fossils from this snake family found again. “When the global climate cooled again after the Miocene, the pythons disappeared from Europe for good,” says Smith.
In conclusion, the paleontologists once again emphasize the importance of the coexistence of the boa and python species in the former ecosystem around Messel. What is special about this is that these two groups appear spatially completely separate today, which has led to suspicions that they displaced one another. “But both lived in Messel Messelopython freyi as well as primitive boas like Eoconstrictor fischeri in an ecosystem – the thesis that the two snake families compete and therefore cannot share a habitat needs to be reconsidered, ”emphasizes Smith.
Source: Senckenberg Research Institute and Nature Museums, specialist article: Biology Letters, doi: 10.1098 / rsbl.2020.0735