The earliest known snakes slithered around dinosaurs and likely ate the behemoth's eggs and young during the heart of the Middle Jurassic when dinosaurs were becoming the dominant predators on land.
Four newly discovered ancient snake fossils date the reptiles to between 140 and 167 million years ago, according to a new study, published in the journal Nature Communications. The earliest date is nearly 70 million years older than the previous record of ancient snake fossils.
Lead author Michael Caldwell explained to Discovery News that it is "very likely that snakes ate young dinosaurs or preyed upon their eggs."