South Africa: Fossil Snake Traces - Another World-First Find On South Africa's Cape South Coast

Snakes are familiar, distinctive - and often feared - reptiles. And they've been around for a long time: body fossils found in the UK, Portugal and the US stretch all the way back to

There are probably several reasons for this. One is that the tracks of large quadrupeds , including dinosaurs, are easier to recognise than those of snakes. Another reason could be that snakes tend to avoid sandy or muddy areas in which their trails could be registered, preferring vegetated terrain. Maybe, as the weight of the snake is distributed over its entire length, the trails are shallow and are not easy to identify.

The puff adder and long-horned buffalo traces were found on the surface of a loose slab, 3 metres long and 2.6 metres wide, which had become dislodged and fallen down onto the beach from overlying cliffs. The slab is submerged twice a day by high tides. We were fortunate to discover it when its surface was bare, as repeat visits have shown that it is often covered in algae or by a thick layer of beach sand.Snakes use four main types of locomotion.

We also found possible trace evidence at other sites on the Cape south coast of sidewinding and undulatory motion, but this was inconclusive. We will be looking for further, more conclusive evidence.have been identified, of mammals, birds and reptiles. Most of these sites were registered on dune surfaces, which have now becomeFirst fossil trails of baby sea turtles found in South Africa

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