The Great Snake Debate

[@markwentz8332]

Came to see snakes arguing, left disappointed but educated.

[@chadderalleh8107]

I read your comment. and i laughed

[@DrHardlyKummsz]

😂😂😂

[@FatManLaughing]

I love you.

[@Lilliathi]

Wrong section, you're looking for politics.

[@mgg4142]

Comedic genius

[@cholulahotsauce6166]

Has anyone considered just *asking* the snakes?

[@Milkpastasoup]

Sadly we are the only ones that can speak. Then again you could teach a snake sign language but they have no limbs .

[@DRSDavidSoft]

Of course, first we need to get a Parseltongue for that 🐍

[@christosvoskresye]

In order to progress, Vesta, science needs instruments. In this case the obvious instrument would be a Ouija board to communicate with the spirit of a dead snake -- ideally one that died maybe 200 million years ago. :-)

[@randomclips4094]

Welp we have a snake but its attached to us and they dont speak they only have 1 eye

[@jakenaylor9138]

christovoskresye - Quick! Get me my weegee board--the one with the real weegees. (Stolen from WC Fields)

[@ScionStorm1]

"Kind of frustrating, but also fascinating"- Science in a nutshell.

[@rafaelalodio5116]

Very true.

[@djbslectures]

+

[@vampyricon7026]

+

[@monark3651]

True

[@AlamoOriginal]

@Eddie Torres how is it wrong?

[@bartelgrant]

In order to make everyone happy I propose that snakes evolved from semi-aquatic lizards in coastal regions eventually with mudflats or mangroves. This could explain their aquadynamic or sand-ergodynamic movements. However, the necessity for wider jaws is even more important for snakes in sandy environment as sand exhibits more resistance than water. I prefer the hypothesis that snakes mainly hunted in sand dunes or coastal underbush. This explains why they lost their hearing, because in mudflats and sand dunes in proximity to the coast you would need to sense vibrations in order to hunt for aproaching prey. Importantly, the coastal environment snakes would be allrounders, their body shape allowing them to hunt in sand, mud, and water. The sand allows them to burrow themselves, the mud as well, the water offers plenty of prey. this would make an ideal starting point for evolution into tivers and land. The mudflat adds to this in that it forces animals to adapt to the change in environment, thus making ergodynamic movement in all three areas even more important. In case of high tide, mangrove forests could lend another factor of adaptation in that it gives selective advantage to pre-snakes that could also climb trees. Fitting this theory, a common ancestor could be the earless monitor lizard (Lanthanotus borneensis), semiaquatic, native to the Southeast Asian island of Borneo. Just like snakes it has no ears and possesses a (weak) venom. In my eyes it also has a very long tail and a snake like head shape. Edit: I edited out a weak argument about flexible jaws being useful for eating crustaceans.

[@ilovecheez7769]

That's an interesting hypothesis. It supports both the aquatic, and the terrestrial hypotheses, and is credible. (But I don't really have a place to say this, because I'm a complete amateur.)

[@shootme9067]

Your hypothesis does support both land and water dwelling lizards as snake’s primary ancestors. Very credible

[@rimmipeepsicles1870]

I should say that is a real great idea on snake evolution! It confirms the reasons of why snakes came to be, and when I say them, I mean all of them.

[@rosielow527]

This is incredible. I love this.

[@rimmipeepsicles1870]

So, this theory should be adopted as a primary theory.

[@casper6405]

Snake what happened Snake! SNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE! Snake: I lost my legs

[@CebronCalahan]

Metal Gear Solid

[@sonofsothis58]

Kept you waiting huh?

[@masonchevron5068]

Classic

[@AltGrendel]

They’re right over there.

[@aselweerasekara3319]

Great great great ... grandpa snske: *I Used to be an adventurer like you, but then I took an arrow to the knee*

[@Ngamotu83]

Snakes are virtually perfect. They've conquered almost every major land mass, can navigate so many different terrains, and are highly efficient killers. And they've achieved all this without limbs.

[@Teth47]

But they can't open a bottle though...

[@Mattteus]

Let's give 'em a hand!

[@Ngamotu83]

Yeah, but one thing that snakes have that a lot of other species don't, is patience, even though they tend to kill quite fast, whether by venom or by causing cardiac arrest.

[@ScionStorm1]

But can they sing?

[@Ngamotu83]

ScionStorm Some of them have their own maracas, so I suppose that counts as a form of music. And they can hiss, which is more than what some so called musicians can do.

[@Viatoreptil]

As a herpetologist, this video pleases me very much. On the topic of reptilian evolution, what would make a neat video is looking into how the turtle shell came to be. ;-)

[@Celevie]

Edward Ramirez same goes for snail shell.

[@garrettducat5769]

Agreed. I would love to learn about the evolutionary history of the turtle shell!

[@brokenwave6125]

A creature thats already covered in armored scales developing a shell probably wasnt much of a stretch. Thicker scaled creatures were better protected...and were more likely to survive. Thick, rigid scales on the legs and neck would be a hindrance...so natural selection favored rigid scales on the abdomen more than on the limbs...leading to a "shell".

[@Rwnds7967]

Broken Wave But that's not how the turtle shell came to be. A turtle's shell is made from the bones in its spine, elongated and fused together. Here's a google images picture: www.google.co.uk/search?q=turtle+skeleton&rlz=1C1CHBD_en-GBGB741GB742&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjMoIPPkZbZAhVDIcAKHYR0C_QQ_AUICigB&biw=1366&bih=662#imgrc=y2VTLk2ncnWmmM:

[@MarkBonneaux]

Could it be possible that there's a common ancestor that diverged into the therasins (spelling?), the mosasaurs, AND snakes? Like terrestrial bench, semi-aquatic, and fully aquatic?

[@okeexpeditions]

Great video! Just a note- snakes don’t “unhinge” their jaws. Their quadrate bone acts as a double-hinged joint- so rather than unhinging, they’re technically double-hinging. 👍

[@altoid345b]

Jenny Gaines it's just better to say unhinge because you don't have to explain it and you get the same point across

[@sirmeowthelibrarycat]

altoid345b 😖 No! When describing specific physiological behaviour it is necessary to use correct terminology. If someone finds that difficult, they should ask for or look up further clarification. Dumbing down is completely unacceptable.

[@MissingRaptor]

I agree. Their lower jaw basically has a joint in it that allows it to flex and stretch more so the jaw can open wider. They shouldn't be saying "unhinged" because it's been shown to be completely false.

[@goawaygoawaynow]

I think dumbing down - or simplifying - is completely acceptable as long as it is still correct. "Unhinge", however, is plain incorrect, that is not what happens. Not even on a very simplistic level. If you want a simple explanation, say "more complex jaw hinge".

[@TheCharleseye]

Agreed. It reminds me of people claiming American Pitbull Terriers have "locking jaws." It's gone around so much that people actually think there's some special bone arrangement in their heads that allows their jaws to lock in place. In truth, it's about the style of bite. APBTs perform a "grab and hold" style of bite while many other breeds use a "bite and re-bite" technique. There are no special bones, it's just a trait that was encouraged throughout breeding. It's an important difference that shouldn't be "simplified" to the point of being completely incorrect.

[@darkwolfnova344]

You forgot to mention the legless lizards that look and move like snakes but aren't

[@kekeke8988]

It's a similar thing to canines vs hyenas. Snakes and "legless lizards" look and move similarly and both belong to the same order, just like dogs and hyenas, although they descend from different sub-families of carnivores.

[@devonjames3509]

@@kekeke8988 o you mean glass snakes basically a legless skink they also have ear holes snakes don't

[@devonjames3509]

@@kekeke8988 o you mean glass snakes basically a legless skink they also have ear holes snakes don't

[@Kevs442]

@@devonjames3509 Glass LIZZARDS. They are a legless lizzard, they are not snakes!

[@gah-kaileung7075]

#convergentevolution

[@dr.floridamanphd]

PBS: Were snakes originally terrestrial or marine? Me: Yes.

[@proggaparomita13]

*RiBs FoR dAyS*

[@guardrailbiter]

Would be a great ad campaign for a ribs joint. ☺

[@BrokenAbyss]

He said, “Mouthiness” 🤣

[@manzanajoemerj.9849]

*So snakes can swallow things bigger than its own head. Which we don't recommend that you try at home*

[@manzanajoemerj.9849]

These lines been killing me like----

[@irillion]

Ribbed for our pleasure :O

[@joeys4289]

I'll keep saying it, I'm so grateful for this channel and the content it provides. #PBSEONSISLOVE

[@Celevie]

Dodo Bird i have eaten komodo dragon twice

[@avery-quinnmaddox5985]

Dodo Bird "Content"... oh boy.. information is now a commodity, huh?

[@parkerc9816]

Oh wait...

[@ethantraniyahandcowboyruin3143]

@@parkerc9816 DODOS MATTER

[@borisbishoff2505]

This channel is very quickly becoming my favorite, you guys singlehandedly reignited my interest in paleontology!

[@theMcWOPPER]

Is it? Is it,Boris Bishoff?

[@LolSnimci]

i wish i was paleontologist...this is the only thing that excites me every time...

[@user-jy2sj4ed4i]

Agreed

[@favorius]

pickaxe! i need a pickaxe and dig.

[@steelman1506]

Terrestrial is my bet. The vestigial limbs sometimes appearing on snakes aren't flippers nor webbed

[@blakew5672]

Steel Man I’d always heard the idea that they came from lizards living in grassland environments. Thick upgrowth would impede animals with legs, so losing the legs would give an animal an advantage in chasing prey. First I’ve heard this argument, though I haven’t exactly kept up with it.

[@sadtea2370]

You know they use their *bodies* , to swim, like eels right

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

Yeah, but having paddle legs is better for swimming than having grabby legs.

[@Vaprous]

@@blakew5672 Only problem with this is grasses and grasslands weren't a thing until *much* later, long after the dinosaurs were dead. Its actually a defining trait for *our* evolutionary history; because humans had to develop persistance hunting techniques and evolutionary adaptations to hunt the large animals that were taking advantage of the grasslands that appeared and defined particularly the last five million years of evolutionary history.

[@i_am_zenith2866]

@@HappyBeezerStudios i mean crocodiles don't really have webbed digits. They kind of are but also not really because they don't use them for aquatic locomotion. So it isn't unreasonable to expect the same from snakes especially because even semi aquatic lizards lack webbing.

[@dr.lyleevans6915]

So.. snakes have conquered land, sea, and air! (Snakes on a plane) 🤙

[@Zackie]

This would've been a perfect joke if you waited for someone to argue with you about the air part

[@Mockturtlesoup1]

Not sure if you meant this as well, but there actually are "flying snakes"(though obviously they don't actually fly, but instead glide(and surprising well too.))

[@isakjohansson7134]

Trains too

[@sariahseare3753]

Yeah there is totally a snake from Asia that jumps and glides between trees.

[@dr.lyleevans6915]

@@Zackie damnit, you’re right

[@ErebusTheDragonn]

Video: Did snakes come from ocean lizards, or land lizards? Me: *_yes_*

[@fransoto8343]

More like: Me: did snakes come from the land or the ocean? Scientists: Y E S

[@fransoto8343]

@@blue_blue-1 you're right. I will now believe in the true gods. Nana and popo.

[@blue_blue-1]

Missing Around, idiot you are, for sure.

[@predictivetextisforaunts]

Blue Blue Where do you believe snakes come from then, Yoda?

[@lonewolf577]

O.O

[@GreenFors]

Can you talk more about the period before the dinosaurs? That "When Giant Fungi Ruled" still keeps me up at night(in a good way).

[@ProfessorEGadd]

You might be interested in Aron Ra's ongoing series 'The Systematic Classification of Life'. It's focused on evolution but of course describes the world in which the animals live. I hope this link works: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d4m0gZKIYt6cq9k

[@moukidelmar]

You should do a video about the evolution of plants. We tend to focus on animals because they move and fight, but plants are as actively alive and violently interesting as animals, and should be explored more.

[@daveslow84]

Check out the BBC series on plants! Amazing documentary series 👌

[@TheAspiringCentenarian]

I agree! It's Eons anyway; plants should have a place at the table.

[@gozinta82]

Violently interesting?

[@Blefiz]

Plants are lame.

[@andrejones2147]

Plants have no blood… life is in the blood. As interesting as they may be they are by no means as actively alive as animals

[@blanchekonieczka9935]

Hank is a great narrator. Haven't analyzed exactly why...he keeps my attention, has a nice voice with perfectly placed inflections, he somehow helps me understand things that should go right over my head...I'm not being concise because he has a certain indefinable jena se qua. So glad you joined PBS eons!

[@yeetman220]

Us: So did it come from land or sea? Scientist: yes

[@rivuwuu]

Wow a video about the ancestors of my friends

[@dior_nya0432]

Imamul Kabir hmm😏

[@snorlaxwithabattleaxe9149]

Imamul Kabir you’re friends with Demarcus cousins?

[@dragunovbushcraft152]

Are your friends Lawyers?

[@hopefilledsinner3911]

You need new friends

[@teamcastro9187]

Imamul Kabir Why do your friends not have limbs?

[@durpddurke4633]

Ancient danger noodles!

[@BlazeTaleo]

Da Dragon Durp old nope rope

[@andregon4366]

Cody's Lab reference.

[@hypercumstone44]

You are everywhere XD

[@hellothere4485]

A deadly line

[@sheenabailey]

Da Dragon Durp lol

[@vincentx2850]

Lizards with reduced limbs have evolved multiple times in history, and all of the ones we know for sure evolved from a burrowing or at least ground dwelling ancestor. I support team terrestrial hypothesis.

[@haseo8244]

Several lizard species are actually legless and looks a lot like snakes, at least on the outside.

[@pansepot1490]

I don't know, it seems to me this video is making up a debate/misery that doesn't exist. If snakes have been found with vestigial LEGS they obviously were terrestrial. If they descended from marine fishlike reptiles they would have had FINS.

[@rodrigoborges3876]

Pat Pezzi the point that aquatic theorists defend is that an aquatic lifestyle on a lizard could kickstart snake evolution and then halfway through some species returned to land while some remained oceanic (and maybe later the og ocean snakes disappeared and some land snakes returned to sea, which would explain the fused hearing bones of modern sea snakes). For them it seems unlikely that a terrestrial animal would simply lose limbs posed that in a terrestrial environment limbs are very useful for a number of things (but not so much in an aquatic one, making loss of limbs more likely to happen) I'm personally team terrestrial, but the aquatic evolutionary theorists rely mainly on how loss of limbs makes for an unlikely evolutionary success in land and much more likely in water, which is a fair point But look at how modern lizards are all slithery with their motion and you can't help but to think that they barely even need their legs, and since evolution is very much a use it or lose it type of thing...

[@bensutcliffe1975]

If a limbless tube form is so successful and has evolved multiple times from different groups, where then is the mamal snake?

[@Nonose_s2]

Yep. Anguis fragilis

[@violattevi]

Instead of land or water they came from the air. Whoosh.

[@guardrailbiter]

Is that how we ended up with... Snakes on a Plane?

[@unknownherrscher]

and then the fire snaketion attacked but the snake master of all habitats can tell us where

[@espositogregory]

Arial asps

[@sovietbot6708]

There is a species of snake that can glide

[@espositogregory]

The Gaytheist floating fangs.

[@uladeb.9986]

Evolution of dolphins' skulls. How did the nose hole ended up so high? Their skeletons. And same for whales:-D

[@thespookyvaginosisnut5984]

Dolphins are accualy whales. Toothed whales to be exact

[@noahwashere8197]

Ula de B. Dolphins and whales are a part of the group Cetacea, and all descended from hooves land animals. If you look at fossils of older whales, you can see the nostrils slowly going further up every new species

[@VincentGonzalezVeg]

@@noahwashere8197 and the nails on the flippers of the ancient ones

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

Look at elephants and their skulls. Moving it up there isn't too much an issue. The bigger question is to why it moved up there.

[@carameltherelorian2544]

@@HappyBeezerStudios so they can breath without sticking their entire head out of the water

[@Arshva]

Can we appreciate how cute a snake with arms is??!!

[@legendarypussydestroyer6943]

But then it'll have claws.

[@legendarypussydestroyer6943]

Reptile claws

[@hacked4638]

more like scary

[@sffb8295]

Ikr?!Aaaaaaaaa I fell in love right there and wanted to boop the snoot!

[@sneakysnake7695]

I love all the judgemental shoelaces and just wanna boop the babies on their snoots. Don't try the above at home as many baby venomous snakes are alot more dangerous then adult snakes

[@chistinelane]

Seems like mossasours branched off from protosnakes, and during that process, a few marine snakes branched off from that while terrestrial snakes kept living on land and diversified there

[@xenomorphoverlord]

It's Mosasaurs. The narrator doesn't know how to pronounce that word.

[@unclefestersworld3180]

I watched a video that stated the mosa was likely a land lizard that was running away from a large predator, jumped in the ocean, and never returned to land. I find this particular hypothesis very amusing, and likely made by some "scientist" crackpot. To accompany this theory, I determine the TRex was actually a herbivore that turned carnivore when its arms were too short to reach high enough in a tree to get its favorite fruit, and in a fit of anger and jealousy, turned on the other herbivores, originally, only killing them to rip open their stomachs to eat the fruit within, and over a period of say, 1000 years or so, acquired the taste for meat. Wow, science is fun.

[@aaronlandry3934]

chistine lane Yeah, that’s pretty likely. Some snakes were probably better suited for muddy/damp climates and just continuously evolved towards water

[@Abc-tx4zr]

@@unclefestersworld3180 um no

[@ambulocetusnatans]

As an interested amateur, it seems to me that the most parsimonious conclusion would be that snakes and mosasaurs shared a common varanid-like ancestor. If snakes descended from mosasaurs, the ones with atavistic limbs would have flippers, not legs. Once a lineage evolves flippers, it would be unlikely to re-evolve legs.

[@ruchpat1]

Snakes are the most underrated and underappreciated in my opinion.

[@madeline569]

Nah that'd be fungi

[@BlueValco]

Once we unlock assassin’s creed tech in the future we’ll be able to just put a snake in an animus and look at its ancestors.

[@Sam60420]

Haha underrated comment

[@Kevs442]

Man, I wouldn't go around sticking snakes, or anything else in your animus. If it gets stuck in there, you're probably going to have to see an emergency veterinarian and have it surgically removed...

[@_Fly_trap_]

Loving the frequency and quality of these videos

[@miquelescribanoivars5049]

Another thing to consider, moles and desmans. We have burrowing moles, moles that both burrow and swim and desmans which are aquatic but also dig burrows, Maybe early snakes also had a similarly broad ecological niche.

[@EmmaSpAce111]

Ribs for days is my fave description

[@josephgonzalez8138]

I've rewatched this episode soooo many times.

[@davidec.4021]

Now the “Snakes from Space” episode from Rick & Morty makes a lot more sense (not really)

[@lazyperfectionist1]

But given the sheer variety of snake species in the world, the sheer variety of environments in which they can survive, and the relative simplicity of how lizards at the time could _transform_ into snakes, must they have only _one_ origin?

[@kahlilme2025]

Yes. Simply put, nothing evolves twice.

[@TMtheScratcher]

The flexible jaw could easily be an example of convergent evolution. Whenever prey becomes too big, you must get greater or more flexible jaws, no matter what kind of animal you are or whether you live underwater or not. However the audio-sense-to-vibration-detection-sense-transformation seems not to belong to such kind of evolution. On land it seems legit, but underwater not really. So several origins from terrestrial animals are also possible in my opinion. However the aquatic ones are a bit complicated, since all snakes have similar bone and skull structures, that could not reach such similarity from analogy alone.

[@longswordhana]

TyrannosaurusLives actually some things evolve many many times. It’s called convergent evolution and it’s why bats and birds and some insects can fly even though they’re not at all closely related.

[@lazyperfectionist1]

Oh, well _that's_ not true. Felines and canines evolved separately, but _now,_ there are felines and canines with very long, tall frames, that run very _fast,_ and felines and canines that very short and stout and live relatively _sluggish_ lives. These are two examples of parallel evolution.

[@Ninjaananas]

TyrannosaurusLives That's simply wrong. As the others said, it is called convergent evolution.

[@prehistoricadam]

Please talk about australian mammals in the cenozoic! Also, the evolution on New Zealand (before humans arrived, only 800 years ago, the only mammals were bats!). And South American mammals have had some weird evolutionary paths. Basically talk about the cenozoic and islands

[@floralspectre]

yay bats 🦇

[@witchofravens22]

Yes...bats, flying foxes and Australia's large population of marsupials

[@prehistoricadam]

Little Miss Introvert i was more thinking diprotodon and giant short faced kangaroos

[@lilaclizard4504]

I think the "tigers" are more interesting, starting out life as herbivores & then becoming the top predator carnivores because there was a lack of carnivores in Oz & how about the flightless birds of NZ

[@danmueller4021]

Ailsa May don't forget thylacoleo

[@6099x]

i would love an episode on the special forms of evolution that take place on islands. thinking about new zealand or australia, or madagskar even, i think it would make a great episode. as always, thanks for the amazing content you guys put out!

[@OrangeUtan1]

Nobody: PBS eons: mowsasaurs

[@spinoplays6703]

Why did the aquatic creature mow the lawn? Because it is a MOWsasaurus.

[@animeyahallo3887]

Snake : look at my teeny tiny legs *after evolution* Snake : I can't feel my legs! I can't feel my legs!

[@Krisostomo25]

Damn i love this channel makes me rethink the stuff i know when i was a kid.

[@threewest1696]

Don't know why this popped up on my suggestions but I'm glad it did

[@Bengette]

You guys have quickly become one of my all time favorite channels. You might say you guys have snaked your way into my heart.

[@nmarrs8539]

I learn every day just how much I don’t know.

[@Tuber360904]

I’m looking forward to neural link. You’ll be able to flash your mind with an understanding of quantum physics from a computer file like it’s the damn matrix.

[@marylarsen2288]

The information I don't know could fill an encyclopedia.

[@Mikey-ym6ok]

mfhvb mdsbn science fiction

[@jacqueszeal5797]

I love PBS Eons. These mini episodes are intriguing

[@oratorinvisibilia5152]

It seems to me as though snakes share a common ancestor with mosasaurs and varanids.

[@vincentx2850]

And also probably the less famous Anguids - the alligator lizards and slowworms.

[@RestingJudge]

I say the came from a lizard that dwelled in swamps

[@Rwnds7967]

Do we know for a fact that the snakes came second? Maybe they are hard to place because they are they were the common ancestor and we're thinking about it wrong. That's probably not right, though, I'm just typing thoughts.

[@Fever_Dream_92]

Hey Eons! Great video but please do an episode about the origins of parasitism

[@ylhajee]

Pedrok92 Parasitism evolved separately an enormous number of times

[@vampyricon7026]

+

[@eyoung1508]

Hi Eons! How about an episode on the Brontosaurus controversy? I'd love someone to shed some light on that one.

[@bulbasaurhimself8914]

Water: theres aquatic snakes. Earth: there's snakes that dig and burrow. Fire: if you count venomous snakes. Air: theres snakes that can glide really well

[@SpudEater]

I seriously love this channel.

[@sarcasmo57]

Fairly sure they came from mother f-ing planes.

[@heavyrain5949]

This

[@whalermac1561]

How are snakes related to skinks, as some skinks look very similar to snakes and have long slender nearly legless or completely legless bodies. Is it convergent evolution like with the sabertooth cats?

[@practicaloccultist231]

WhalerMAC no I personally think they just diverged at some point far in the past.

[@kennethsatria6607]

Monitors are quite related to snakes...

[@eljanrimsa5843]

According to current measurement of genetic distances, snakes are more related to monitor lizards, iguanas and chameleons, than to skinks or sabertooth cats.

[@thelobster6556]

Assuming that what Eljan Rimsa says is true then probably yes (unless it was divergent evolution way back in time)

[@vincentx2850]

This is convergent evolution (or arguably parallel evolution). Lizards with reduced limbs have evolved so many times in the natural history, not only among skinks, but also geckos, alligator lizards (which is even more closely related to monitor lizards than snakes are), girdled lizards and many more. Conservatively speaking, lizards with reduced limbs have evolved independently among the Squamata for at least 8 times.

[@shanhussain6114]

What is the oldest existing disease in the world and how did it survive for so long?

[@Jlnchp]

Shan Hussain malnutrition, because eating is hard

[@blanchekonieczka9935]

@@Jlnchp eating isn't hard, finding food is. 🤣

[@blanchekonieczka9935]

Interesting question!

[@danparish1344]

Herpes is pretty ancient. Variations are found even in lizards, I believe humans have 7 different viruses in this group. A common ancestor of all invertebrates probably had herpes.

[@mrpellagra2730]

Cancer.It is found in plants.

[@Pyro-et9vs]

My hypothesis is that the earliest snake ancestor (yes, even as old or older than najash) or something similar was BOTH aquatic and terrestrial. Descendants of this ancestor took seperate paths and colonized land and sea.

[@reaper411b]

Love this stuff. Never stop y'all

[@augustusvillanueva2008]

You guys should probably make a video regarding the evolution of cockroaches and termites and how they're possible ancestors of the praying mantis

[@vampyricon7026]

WHAT? How did I not know that?

[@augustusvillanueva2008]

Vampyricon go look it up it's the truth

[@augustusvillanueva2008]

creepy truck driver just check it out yourself here I'll send you a link www.google.com/search?q=the+Cockroach+ancestors+of+the+praying+mantis&client=tablet-android-alco&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8&inm=vs

[@keithharper32]

Or how wasps are the ancestors of bees and ants

[@augustusvillanueva2008]

keithharper32 agreed hopefully they'll do both mine and your suggestion

[@NOTNOTJON]

Just found this channel. Hank Green continues to be my modern day geeky grown up role model that I should have been, but kind of still am on the inside. Oh and great snake video!

[@dudeguy96585589]

Wow, im really glad i just found this channel.

[@billdecat855]

Check out the other Complexly/PBS channels (SciShow/Scishow Space/Microcosms/PBS Spacetime/etc..) They're all just as interesting, educating, and entertaining. Oh, I just noticed this comment is a year old. Never mind, I suspect you've found them already.

[@xLolwat]

This is incredibly dumb, but while I always enjoy these videos, I find myself enjoying them a little more and smiling throughtout the video whenever Agentina's mentioned. I went to Ischigualasto Provincial Park and it truly felt like an otherworldy experience, and the fossils in the park's museum were amazing too. When I see it mentioned in this context I just remember that trip. I guess it just made me appreciate really old things found in Argentina a lot more, haha.

[@HappyTreeFreak666]

Ok, thanks for the education and everything, but you don't tell me how big a thing I can swallow!

[@nickvliet4614]

I laughed at this way longer than I should have! Take my upvote!

[@HappyTreeFreak666]

@@nickvliet4614 thanks for the appreciation my guy, it's nice to know I made you laugh

[@Kevs442]

😳...😒🙄😏...zzziiippp...😎

[@killerreborn34]

I'm surprised you didn't even mention the Titanoboa...

[@hippieskye8794]

Because this video is about the evolution of snakes, their origin, and their ancestors. Titana Boa may be a cool snake, but it really doesn’t effect the debate all that much.

[@blanchekonieczka9935]

@Bad Robot hahaha! 🤣

[@peterlewerin4213]

It's a short video. There was no room for it.

[@nickvliet4614]

@@peterlewerin4213 there's always room for Titanoboa

[@peterlewerin4213]

@@nickvliet4614 the snake -- maybe. But what about the badgers and the mushrooms?

[@cannibalsamic]

This dude is my favorite host

[@blanchekonieczka9935]

Yes!

[@howyadoin3535]

Yes!

[@maxx1014]

Mine is the girl

[@renasance2]

@@blanchekonieczka9935 Hank Green or as I'd like to call him, Hunk Green.

[@blanchekonieczka9935]

@@renasance2 oh yes!

[@Kat-PM]

This is really fascinating. I wonder where glass lizards fit into all of this?

[@katzenlady5339]

"Because you can't do this" made my day. I don't know why, but I loved this explanation

[@guitardude7897]

In Hebrew, najash is pronounced as "Na- Ha/Cha (the throat sound)- Sh", which is the common word for snake.

[@orikaplan5233]

... and is also the eventual pictogram origin of the letter 'N'

[@durpddurke4633]

This might be a weird question, but was Najash venomous by any chance?

[@mortified776]

I would say that's a very reasonable question. As far as I understand it the contention is that lack of venom is a secondary characteristic in snakes i.e. modern non-venomous snakes evolved from venomous ancestors in such a way that the physiological investment in venom was superfluous. Also consider that it has recently been confirmed that varanid lizards which are thought to be taxonomically close to snakes all have a rudimentary venom system. It would seem possible that the common ancestor of both varanids and snakes had some sort of venom capability (the Toxicofera hypothesis) and that early snakes like Najash would have inherited that.

[@pokemongo-py6yq]

Erik Lerström I wouldn’t call them crazy toxic at least compared to some snakes and spiders. Komodo dragon venom is interesting lowering bloody pressure and preventing bloody clotting, and there many serrated teeth, and the way they bite they sorta rip the flesh of prey. It’s sorts mix of the venom and nasty bite that takes out prey.

[@Darkgale69]

@@pokemongo-py6yq isnt bacteria also a major factor

[@Abc-tx4zr]

I'm pretty sure venom in snakes is fairly recent

[@chumuheha]

@@Darkgale69 No, komodo dragons have actual venom, not just bacteria in their mouth. But it's not a neurotoxin like some dangerous snake species have, it prevents clotting. If you manage to keep the wound from bleeding out, you wouldn't face any neurological side effects.

[@Numitronic]

This is one of the sanest and most constructive comment section I have seen so far...

[@yolow86616]

Do cover "The origins of insect flight"

[@xxXthekevXxx]

I would love that

[@eustache_dauger]

The origin of cockroach flight

[@andreshhg396]

I just found this channel, and its amazing.. great job.. saludos desde Argentina.

[@ALAPINO]

I tried to show this video to my snakes: They seem absolutely uninterested.

[@lilren2021]

Which came first: the odd toed ungulates or even toed ungulates? Or do we know anything about the first hooved animals?

[@KhanMann66]

Lauren Peterson Odd-toed ungulates proceeded Even-toed ungulates by 1 million years.

[@xxXthekevXxx]

I enjoy learning about ancient mammals :)

[@rommaninc]

Do a video about the evolution of flying animals (insects, birds, bats, etc)

[@SKy_the_Thunder]

@Andrew Colvin While true it seems very likely that they each followed similar paths. Since no animal just gets born with the ability to fly, it likely started as a means to slow down falling and becoming more and more efficient over time. The exact circumstances were likely very different, but the kind of animal that evolved flight always was a climbing one - be it insects scaling everything they can find, reptiles and mammals hiding in trees and gliding from one to another or dinosaurs using them to jump down on their prey. There seem to be some benefits/disadvantages to flight that very much limit the possibility of it appearing, so I think that would make for an interesting analysis.

[@connorbrennan1850]

SNNNNEEEEEEEEKKKSSS

[@Motsognir9791]

Have yall ever thought that snakes possibly evolved from both

[@heathenwizard]

The Green Raptor morphological and genomic data independently support the monophyly of snakes, so probably not!

[@Vestajik]

Casually watching this with my snake hiding in my sleeve. Yes truly a mystery in this world

[@JudgeEomer]

It seems like the elephant in the room here is that the legs of all these ancient snakes are obviously vestigial, so snake evolution was already quite advanced by that point. So making assumptions about where snakes evolved based on where these 'late' fossils were found appears quite baseless.

[@xxXthekevXxx]

Right?

[@danielkorladis7869]

Indeed. Since snakes are most closely related to lizards, they must have originally had four legs, like all other tetrapods. Since these ones with vestigial limbs are from as early as the jurassic, I would estimate that the very first snakes likely evolved sometime in the late triassic.

[@scaper8]

Judge Éomer Certainly true, but without fossils that can definitely be said to be ancestors of snakes that also have full limbs (or at least not-yet-fully-vestigial limbs) all we have to make hypotheses are the the ones mostly vestigial limbs, the ones with fully vestigial limbs, and the ones with no limbs at all.

[@brianshea2515]

I'm curious as to why Legless Lizards were not also mentioned in this video.

[@reptileadventureny]

Brian Shea I'm more concerned that he repeated the "unhinged jaw" myth. And they do hear, beyond just "picking up vibrations" (I mean, all sound is vibrations if you want to get technical). They have a fully formed inner ear. This post is a great explanation of the current scientific understanding of snake hearing: snakesarelong.blogspot.com/2015/09/can-snakes-hear.html?m=1

[@lilaclizard4504]

cause it's not friday night yet ;) Can't get legless midweek!

[@dstinnettmusic]

New eons video 😍

[@mojosbigsticks]

I love the answer 'we don't know, but we're looking'.

[@obsidianorder1]

I had a corn with two redundant bulges of scales towards the back of the tail. She was called Esme

[@nigelroy1769]

The production quality in this is AMAZING!!!

[@BothHands1]

Whaaaaattt, this episode was *awesome!!*

[@dragon202920]

I always kinda figured they might've came from skinks/legless lizards. Having interacted with skinks and legless lizards they share a lot of snake like attributes. Although at the same time I can also see them having descended from monitors...as they have a lot of snake like features. I wanna say the amphibians Caecilians might have something to do with it as well...since they like snake but amphibian lol. I'm not smart enough to put it all together. I am more surprised there is the great Snek debate, and nothing about it has to do with legless lizards or skinks.

[@omarjaved9748]

I have slow worms ( Anguis fragilis) in my garden, they are completely legless lizards. For all intents and purposes they look like small snakes and move in the same way. I’d be more inclined to believe snakes evolved from something like that, then from oceanic reptiles. Perhaps moving away from the lizard/skink prey of worms and other inverts to more faster, stronger vertebrate prey was the driver towards the snakey attributes.

[@victoriapapesh6892]

WOW... I NEVER heard about this prehistoric Snake.... this is great information... Thank you 😊 I'm a ball python fan... I have two of them. They're beautiful ❤️

[@Chitterbug_]

I’m watching this with my little hognose snake, pumba. Suspiciously he has refused to comment on this matter.

[@general9801]

Where did snakes come from? Me: Satan

[@Draddock]

No Step on Snek!

[@GotPotatoes24]

Even if "paleo" tends to be the antonym of the anthropocene, I really want to see some videos on archaic humans and other hominins! It's fascinating to see in our extinct relatives the unmistakable marks of intelligence thought only to be present in our species.

[@risingmagpie9199]

GotPotatoes24 Not only humans evolved a big intelligent. Not only primates. Not only ceataceans. Not only mammals. Not only vertebrates.

[@GotPotatoes24]

Rising Magpie I never suggested any of that...? What I said was that there are specific marks of intelligence that are unique to the genus Homo, which is true; the marks are unique, not intelligence itself.

[@risingmagpie9199]

GotPotatoes24 In this case, sorry for my critics.

[@GotPotatoes24]

Rising Magpie no problem! I'm glad I could clear up what I meant.

[@thecapone45]

I’ve heard of “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?”. Never thought about “which snake came first, a water snake or a land snake?”

[@jean-louisledanois4559]

Thank you for the great episodes. Episode suggestion: what species are likely to survive and evolve after the Holocene extinction ?

[@leilaahmani4550]

0:35 “We are not at all sure where it came from.” ....errrrr..... well when a mummy snake and a daddy snake love each other very much-

[@AgungJodiPratama]

My naym is snek My body long My hed is smol but jaw is stronk and went it time to get me fed I open wide I monch le bred

[@RelativelyBest]

Serpents are a symbol of the primordial chaos. Appropriate that they should be very old and have mysterious origins.

[@nickvinsable3798]

Personally going with the “Turtle Theory”, one of your Videos that covers the Evolution of Turtles & such.

[@kingkazuma2239]

So a better question than the chicken and the egg would be did snakes become lizards or did lizards become snakes?

[@arjunshabu5335]

Lizards came first

[@thespaceace8164]

I can't believe I watched a science video that actually references the myth that snakes "unhinge" their jaws... and din't immediately debunk it, or even mention the misconception. Even though they mention right after that a snake's jaw bones aren't fused in order to allow them to swallow their prey. (2:26)

[@Davros539]

Wait, its not true?

[@martingoldfire]

I was looking for a comment like this, because I thought the same thing.

[@rainevermore4683]

I really don't get why people are so hung up on this. The fact that their bones are not fused together is the exact reason why we say it's "unhinged" compared to most animals. A shark's jaw doesn't change the meaning of the word unhinged, which is to be unglued or unattached.

[@MissingRaptor]

It's more like they have a joint in their jaw that they can bend rather than unhinging their jaw. And I agree, that part made me cringe.

[@theswedishchicken5963]

Snakes are the best!!!

[@YonasonWeideman]

The biblical name is actually nakhash, not najash. There's no "j" sound in biblical Hebrew.

[@sea5205]

Jonathan Weideman 👏🏾👏🏾

[@KingoftheJuice18]

Jonathan, that true, but I assume that the name is South American which is where he said the snake was discovered, and in Spanish "j" represents a sound very close to the Hebrew letter chet (ח).

[@espositogregory]

Hebrew filtered through Greco-Roman tongue. Story as old as language.

[@KingoftheJuice18]

@@espositogregory "Amen" (אמן)

[@scottsbarbarossalogic3665]

According to Wikipedia, it is the Spanish form of the Herbrew. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Najash (Go to the bottom)

[@BleezyMonkey]

2:47 challenge accepted

[@sarahbethgeorge2847]

Question from our 8 year old who loves these videos: How did paraceratherium get to be so big?