snake with a hand

[I-mon]

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/863766/snake-born-with-hand-shocks-scientists

[edededed]

Arrrgh - stupid old lady! Why'd she have to kill it!

[Darth Rock&Roll]

a recessive gene?

interesting

[Interloper]

I'd be curious to know whether the "clawed hand" was on the front or rear part of the snake. Snakes evolved from 4-legged reptiles to legless... as have several species of lizard ("legless lizards"), but the most primitive (least evolved) of the snakes -- the pythons -- still have visible vestigial leg bones on their pelvic girdle. It's quite likely that a partial sequence of genes for leg development was present in this snake.

Yeah, too bad the woman smooshed it, though I can understand her fear. The DNA is still useful, however, and I hope the researchers do a thorough examination so we can see what interesting genes show up.

[Steve James]

What's most interesting to me is that she reported that it was crawling with its "hand." That seems to be an adaptation. It might not be a snake at all.

[Interloper]

What's most interesting to me is that she reported that it was crawling with its "hand." That seems to be an adaptation. It might not be a snake at all.

That's a good point. It might have been a lizard "born" with three legs missing.

[Steve James]

Yeah, can understand a snake being born with a vestigial limb; but using it successfully for locomotion ... now that'd be impressive. If it isn't a mutation or vestigial, then there has to be more of them hanging around somewhere.

Can't blame the old lady for smashing it, though. It was self-defense. It could've scared her to death. Visions of Igor bidding me to "walk this way" keep passing through my head. You know, they could make a Disney movie out of this.

[cdobe]

What's most interesting to me is that she reported that it was crawling with its "hand." That seems to be an adaptation. It might not be a snake at all.

That's a good point. It might have been a lizard "born" with three legs missing.

Judging from the image, it doesn't look like a lizard. Also note that the extremity appears to be located dorsally.

[Steve James]

Well, the pic looks like a snake that swallowed a lizard, and the lizard kicked throufgh. But, I didn't look real close at the pic. I just didn't think that a "snake" would grow a "hand" and then use it. So, what "could" it be? Maybe it's not a snake... which doesn't imply it's a lizard, amphibian, salamander or an unknown species. OTOH, maybe it's not a "hand" --maybe it's a hoax. It'd genetically plausible to cause a cat to grow wings, but flying is something else.

[Interloper]

Maybe... another Jackalope tall tail.
If you're ever in San Antonio, Texas, go on the tour of the Hall of Horns at the Lone Star Brewery. They have a swell collection of chimerical taxidermy specimens like that.

It really is a snake, however. No question. (I'm putting on my "former professional naturalist" hat now). The leg looks like it is living tissue, and not a healed-over protrusion from an ingested lizard. But the limb is consistent with that of a lizard, including the 5 fingers/toes (the most primitive dactyl design... which we also possess) and claws. The bulge in the body could be due to other skeletal developmental "abnormalities." It doesn't look like it was artificially attached to the snake, but photos can be doctored.

[edededed]

Aw, come on - if you had a prehensile tail, why wouldn't you use it? Or a pair of wings?

Just because other snakes don't have limbs doesn't mean a snake that does wouldn't figure out any uses for them.

[Interloper]

I think it's been done, Ed. It's called "X-Men."

[Interloper]

Now I'm wondering whether this is an elaborate and sophisticated hoax, where some lab was able to transplant a lizard limb onto a snake. The "foot" really is very refined and reptilian, so I'd be verrry surprised if it were part of a genetic throwback. Particularly since this snake is not a python -- the only group of snakes known to have vestigial limbs.

Awaiting the researcher's findings with bated breath.

[Dmitri]

Oh man, all there weird birth defects (both human and animal) seem so abundant in China...
Are they dumping lots of radioactive waste all over the country or something?

[PartridgeRun]

Oh man, all there weird birth defects (both human and animal) seem so abundant in China...
Are they dumping lots of radioactive waste all over the country or something?

China is a poisonous pit, it's that simple. That's the price paid for blitz-style economic development. Even though the country has a set of clear and thoroughly worked out environmental laws, the enviromental agencies and bureaus are understaffed and don't receive sufficient funding. In China, economic development ALWAYS trumps the well-being of both ecosystems at large and humans in particular. The lotic ecosystems in particular are taking the brunt of economic development. China is the preeminent example of the ravages of species overshoot (too many people) and deaf, dumb and blind neo-classical economic thinking.