When did the oldest known fossil snake live?

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timber rattlesnake — snake Timber rattlesnake (*Crotalus horridus*).

The oldest known fossil snake, Eophis underwoodi, lived approximately 167 million years ago during the Middle Jurassic Epoch.1

While snakes are reptiles that evolved from terrestrial lizards, they are distinguished by their unique evolutionary path, which involved the loss of limbs and significant structural specialization.1