ABSTRACT
The word “snake,” in isolation of reference to the larger set to which it is merely an adjective is used to describe a research program on snake lizards. A modern snake would by virtue of its possession of the essence of its kind represent not only itself, but all snakes, from the first to the last. The most important change to our concept of “snakeness” has been the return of paleontological data to the debate, but it has been slow because of the small number of informative fossil snake lizards, as has been realized for some time. Despite the wealth of information on their skulls, links between major clades are missing, and hence, the origins of the major skull design patterns remain obscure. Considering that skull kinesis is a defining feature of the snake lizard skull, it requires some definition, as the presence and degree of this kinesis will require characterization for understanding and modeling the ancient snake lizard skull.
