Genesis of snakes in exodus from the sea

摘要

In the Garden of Eden, the serpent — portrayed complete with limbs by Michelangelo on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel — was commanded to go on its belly and eat dust for the rest of its life (Fig. 1). But it seems that it took to the sea before it finally (more-or-less) settled down to an existence on land; at least, that's the view of Caldwell and Lee, who describe (on page 705 of this issue) a snake that has legs.