A 37-million-year-old snake fossil, Paradoxophidion richardoweni, discovered at Hordle Cliff in England, has been identified as a new species after sitting unnoticed in the Natural History Museum's collection for over 40 years. This early-branching caenophidian, represented by tiny vertebrae, may be the oldest known relative of modern elephant trunk snakes and hints at an aquatic lifestyle, offering new insights into snake evolution in the British Isles during the Late Eocene. Researchers, led by Dr. Georgios Georgalis, utilized micro CT scans to analyze the fossil, which exhibits a unique combination of primitive and modern snake characteristics, shedding light on the emergence of this significant snake group.