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A great and precious discovery was made by a team at the European Light Source (ESRF) Grenoble, France – a snake with two legs. Using X-rays they showed that the snake embedded in Lebanese limestone, discovered in 2000 and having only one leg visible, had another one hidden under the limestone slab. The creature of about 92 million year old is known as Eupodophis descouensi and is 85 cm long.

Scientists are certain that it is a leg because it has fibula, tibia and femur. The stumpy posterior limb is only 2cm long and most probable useless.

According to some evidence the snake appeared less than 150 million years ago. But researches still can’t say exactly how snakes lost their limbs. There are two theories: first is the terrestrial origin in which lizards began to burrow and lost their front limbs and back limbs as they started to accommodate to underground existence. The second theory is the aquatic origin, from marine reptiles.

· The top picture is a synchrotron view of the visible snake leg vestigial

· Synchrotron light in the bottom view illuminates the hidden limb

Among all snakes known today only pythons and boas has clues of their legged ancestors called "spurs", located near their ends. And such evidence in the fossil proof is extremely rare.