Snakes may have driven human evolution: researchers

A new study shows that early forms of snakes may have contributed to the evolution of man.

Researchers from the University of California suggest that primates developed traits to avoid being eaten by snakes.

The study claims that primates' senses of smell and sight were sharpened to battle predators.

Scientists have long believed that primates' hand-eye coordination came from grabbing food, picking fruit, or swinging through trees.

But early primates, the researchers say, developed a better judgment of colour, faster reflexes and sometimes even an enlarged brain in order to have the upper hand with the snakes.

The researchers claim the snake fossils and DNA they studied date back to when mammals were in the early stages of evolving, some 100 million years ago.

This suggests that snakes were one of the earliest predators known to man.

Scientists say that this would explain why certain primate traits developed, such as forward-facing eyes, as opposed to eyes on the side of the head like other mammals.

This allowed the mammals to have a way of seeing called 'orbital convergence' yielding a three-dimensional view to spot predators.

The study was published in the July issue of Journal of Human Evolution.

Photography: The Reptile Page

Source: Discovery Channel Reports, July 24 edition