Fossils of 6,000-year-old prehistoric snakes discovered in China (photo)

In the south of China, in the Zojiang River basin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, snake bones dating back to the Neolithic period were found. These reptiles lived here about 6000 years ago.

According to the Chinese newspaper 163, the longest single vertebrae found at the site represents an individual snake belonging to the species Python bivittatus. This finding indicates that the total length of the snake's body was 4.58 meters, exceeding the previous Chinese record for this species of 3.56 meters.

"The new discovery has also helped shed light on the history of snake hunting in southern China, which can be traced back to about 6,000 years ago," the publication writes.

Read also: In China, customs officers detained a woman carrying 5 live snakes on her body (photos and videos)

Archaeologists found that most of the excavated snake bones had burn marks on the surface, and mammalian bones stacked side by side also showed signs of cutting or bruising.

Researcher Yang Qingping from the Guangxi Institute of Cultural Relics Protection and Archaeology believes that prehistoric people in the area used to fry food to process snake meat.

Reptile expert Lu Ting emphasized that Guangxi is one of the richest regions in China in terms of snake diversity. The poisonous king cobra, python and elaphe moellendorffi can still be found in this region today.

Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences reportedly found that most snakes lived in the Zojiang River basin in Guangxi, which was a "snake paradise."

As a reminder, well-preserved fossils were found in the UK. In Wales, scientists Lucy Muir and Jo Botting from Amgeddfa Cymru unearthed fossils of marine fauna that lived approximately 462 million years ago.

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