Lizard Fossil Rewrites the Textbooks Again

It did not look like the expected
evolutionary link. It resembles
modern lizards in many respects

 

 

by Jerry Bergman, PhD

Introduction

A new fossil lizard discovery has upended evolutionary thinking once again, forcing scientists to again rewrite the textbooks.[1]

The lead author of the discovery announced in Nature was Daniel Marke of the School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh (UK). He reported a fossil belonging to the superorder Lepidosauroidea—a group that includes lizards and snakes—which the authors say exhibit traits of both animals. For example, it has snake-like jaws, curved teeth, and a short body with fully formed lizard limbs.[2]

On the Origin of Lepidosaurs

Professor Marke estimated the fossil find was the oldest known relative of lizards discovered in the UK. Specifically, as described by the London Natural History Museum curator of reptiles Patrick Campbell, it was

“A new species of ancient reptile, known as Agriodontosaurus helsbypetrae, [which] reveals that the evolution of these animals was quite different than scientists had imagined. An extinct species has revealed new twists in the tale of lizards and their relatives.”[3] [Emphasis added.]

Agriodontosaurus helsbypetrae is Gaelic for ‘false snake of Elgol,’ the area in Scotland’s Isle of Skye where it was discovered.

Fossil lepidosaurs are rare. According to evolutionists, the lack of evidence for the evolution of lepidosaurs is explained as due to fossil preservation problems: With over 12,000 species, lepidosaurs are one of the most species-rich groups of land vertebrates, and yet it is “hard to know where they came from as the fragile bones of their early ancestors are vulnerable to being damaged or destroyed.”[4]

Details of the Fossil Defy Evolution

In contrast to this claim, the amount of detail in the newly discovered A. helsbypetrae fossil was enormous. Specifically,  “the exceptional resolution and quality of scans from synchrotron X-ray sources show us all the fine details.”[5] The fossil was, the researchers claim, preserved due to being rapidly buried by an enormous flood, an event which reminds creationists of Noah’s flood.

A common way to deal with the evolutionary problem is to postulate more time for evolution to occur, to allow the necessary mutations to produce the numerous changes required. The fossil, claimed to be over 245 million years old, is so similar to modern examples that it is called “a living fossil.” Judging by the artists depiction of the fossil, it looks very much like a modern lizard. The 245 million years old evolutionary claim makes it the oldest known member of this group of lepidosaurs, pushing “fossil evidence of this group back by several million years.”[6]

Expectations Fall; Stories Arise

One major problem for evolution is that the new fossil showed “almost none of the characteristics we expected on a fossil ancestor of the modern examples.”[7] Examples include: it lacked teeth on its palate and had no sign of a jaw hinge. A jaw hinge allows opening and closing of its mouth. Rather, it had a gap between skull bones known as an open temporal bar. This design enables them to stretch out their jaws, which allows them to swallow much larger prey than the jaw hinge design allows.[8] Consequently, “The new fossil shows almost none of the characters we expected” in an evolutionary link.[9]

In an attempt to fit the new fossil in the lizard-snake evolutionary tree, three possible theories were proposed, none of them fully satisfactory.[10] These possibilities include the key snake characteristics, such as dental features that might have evolved multiple times or might have been more widespread among early squamates than was previously thought. Another possibility, which is the most straightforward explanation, is that A. helsbypetrae was not a snake or other reptile ancestor, but rather just an extinct animal; a variation of a unique kind.[11]

Summary

The focus of the articles about Agriodontosaurus helsbypetrae is the problem of fitting it into a consistent evolutionary theory of progression. Several possibilities were proposed—assuming the evolutionary worldview—including the notion that its key snake characteristics (such as its dental features) have evolved multiple times. The most likely possibility is that the animal was not an evolutionary link, but rather an extinct type of lepidosaur. This is true of thousands of other animals. Unfortunately, the evolutionary presumptions cloud understanding of findings, which tend to ignore the most obvious answer.

References

[1] Daniel Marke et al. 2025 The oldest known lepidosaur and origins of lepidosaur feeding adaptations. Nature (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09496-9.

[2] Researchers Discover New Species of Ancient Hook-toothed Reptile.  1 Oct) American Museum of Natural History.  https://www.amnh.org/explore/news-blogs/fossil-lizard

[3] Ashworth, James. 2025. Newly found fossils of lizard-like animal are the oldest ever discovered. Natural History Museum. https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2025/september/newly-found-fossils-lizard-like-animal-oldest-ever-discovered.html.

[4] Ashworth 2025.

[5] Ashworth 2025.

[6] Buehler, Jake. 2025. Incredible’ fossil reveals earliest relative of lizards and their kin. Paleontologists use x-rays to reconstruct ancient reptile bones too fragile to remove from rock. Science. https://www.science.org/content/article/incredible-fossil-reveals-earliest-relative-lizards-and-their-kin

[7] Buehler, 2025.

[8] Buehler, 2025.

[9] Ashworth 2025.

[10] Zaher, Hussam. 2025. The Complex tile of Snake and Lizard Evolution. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-02972-2

[11] Zaher, Hussam

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Dr. Jerry Bergman has taught biology, genetics, chemistry, biochemistry, anthropology, geology, and microbiology for over 40 years at several colleges and universities including Bowling Green State University, Medical College of Ohio where he was a research associate in experimental pathology, and The University of Toledo. He is a graduate of the Medical College of Ohio, Wayne State University in Detroit, the University of Toledo, and Bowling Green State University. He has over 1,900 publications in 14 languages and 40 books and monographs. His books and textbooks that include chapters that he authored are in over 1,800 college libraries in 27 countries. So far over 80,000 copies of the 60 books and monographs that he has authored or co-authored are in print. For more articles by Dr Bergman, see his Author Profile.