Scientists Discover New Fossil Snake Species

Human skulls displayed on museum pedestals — Photo: Andrii Zastrozhnov / Shutterstock

Four tiny snakes that died together in a Wyoming burrow 38 million years ago are now raising big questions about how long nature—not government planners or political elites—has been quietly solving survival problems through cooperation and adaptation.

Story Snapshot

A new fossil species, Hibernophis breithaupti, was found as four almost-complete snakes curled together in a burrow in western Wyoming.
The fossils give rare 3‑D detail of an ancient snake’s skull and spine, reshaping ideas about how snakes evolved and spread in cooler North America.
The snakes likely died within hours of each other, hinting at possible group hibernation or communal use of a burrow.
The find shows nature’s complex behavior is preserved by careful, slow science—while today’s leaders rush big climate and energy decisions without this kind of hard evidence.

A Rare Wyoming Fossil That Changes Snake History

Scientists have formally named a new fossil snake species, Hibernophis breithaupti, based on four nearly complete skeletons from the White River Formation in western Wyoming. These snakes lived about 38 million years ago, during the early Oligocene, when the climate across North America was getting cooler. The fossils were found curled together in a burrow-like space and preserved in fine mudstone, an environment that helped keep the bones in order and nearly intact. This level of preservation is extremely rare for snakes, which are usually known only from scattered vertebrae.

Field crews uncovered the fossils in a thin layer of sediment, and later scanning of the rock showed one snake hidden inside the block. Three snakes were found together in one piece of rock, with two visible on the surface and a third buried within, while a fourth came from a nearby spot in the same formation. Scientists say the skulls, jaws, and more than 200 vertebrae are all preserved in proper sequence, allowing them to follow the skeleton from nose to tail. This detail lets researchers track how each vertebra changes along the spine, something they could not do with loose bones.

What the Fossils Reveal About Evolution and Lifestyle

The research team used the complete skulls and articulated spines to compare Hibernophis with other fossil and living snakes. Their analysis suggests the species is related to the broader group that includes modern boas and pythons, known to scientists as Booidea. The body shape and skull features point to a small, burrowing lifestyle, similar to some modern burrowing boas that spend much of their time underground. Because these fossils come from a cooler time in Earth’s history, they also show that snake evolution in North America included species adapted to colder, more seasonal climates.

Researchers argue that having a full, 3‑D skeleton gives them a “map” to reinterpret the many snake vertebrae sitting in museum drawers. There may be nearly a million isolated snake vertebrae in collections worldwide, but until now scientists struggled to match those bones to species or life stages. With Hibernophis, they can now see how vertebrae from different parts of the spine look, and tie that to age and growth. This kind of careful, physical evidence stands in contrast to much of today’s public debate, where sweeping claims about nature, climate, and energy policy often race ahead of solid data.

Hints of Social Behavior and Group Hibernation

The position of the snakes—curled together in a burrow-like chamber—has led scientists to suggest possible group hibernation or communal sheltering. The fossils appear to have been buried quickly in fine mud, and the snakes likely died within a short time of each other, maybe hours. Because the skeletons are intertwined yet undisturbed, the team argues they were not washed in by a violent flood, but were already gathered in the burrow when they died. Some coverage has described this as the earliest fossil hint of social behavior or shared winter refuge among snakes.

At the same time, scientists know that behavior is hard to prove from fossils alone. The taxonomic claim—that Hibernophis breithaupti is a new species with a burrowing body plan—is much stronger than the idea of “social” snakes, which rests on how the fossils were arranged. Still, the find fits a larger picture from other studies: early snakes likely showed varied lifestyles, including burrowing and nocturnal activity, rather than just one simple pattern. In an era when many Americans feel today’s leaders oversimplify complex social and economic problems, this ancient burrow quietly reminds us that real-world systems, whether in nature or society, are rarely that simple.