1. Introduction Hussam Zaher and David J. Gower; Part I. The Squamate and Snake Fossil Record: 2. The origin and early diversification of squamates Susan E. Evans; 3. The first 80 million years of snake evolution: the Mesozoic fossil record of snakes and its implications for origin hypotheses, biogeography, and mass extinction Jason J. Head, Alexandra F. C. Howard and J Johannes Müller; 4. The diversity and distribution of Palaeogene snakes: a review, with comments on vertebral sufficiency Krister T. Smith and Georgios L. Georgalis; 5. Miocene snakes of Eurasia: A review of the evolution of snake communities Martin Ivanov; Part II. Palaeontology and the Marine-Origin Hypothesis: 6. Sea-serpentism Olivier Rieppel; 7. Reassessing the morphological foundations of the Pythonomorph Hypothesis Michael J. Polcyn, Bruno G. Augusta and Hussam Zaher; 8. A review of non mosasaurid (dolichosaur and aigialosaur) mosasaurians and their relationships to snakes Bruno G. Augusta, Hussam Zaher, Michael J. Polcyn, Anthony R. Fiorillo and Louis L. Jacobs; 9. A review of the skull anatomy and phylogenetic affinities of marine pachyophiid snakes Hussam Zaher, Bruno G. Augusta, Rivka Rabinovich, Michael J. Polcyn and Paul Tafforeau; Part III. Genomic Perspectives: 10. Using comparative genomics to resolve the origin and early evolution of snakes Sara Ruane and Jeffrey W. Streicher; 11. The evolution of squamate chitinase genes (CHIAs) supports an early insectivory¿carnivory transition during the origin of snakes Christopher A. Emerling; 12. Origin and early diversification of the enigmatic squamate venom cocktail Vivek Suranse, Ashwin Iyer, Timothy N. W. Jackson and Kartik Sunagar; Part IV. Neurobiological Perspectives: 13. Using adaptive traits in the inner ear to estimate ecology of early snakes Hongyu Yi; 14. A glimpse into the evolution of the ophidian brain Agustín Scanferla; 15. Eyes, vision and the origins and early evolution of snakes David J. Gower, Einat Hauzman, Bruno F. Simões and Ryan K. Schott; Part V. Anatomical and Functional Morphological Perspectives: 16. Diversity and evolution of the squamate hemipenis: An overview with particular reference to the origin and early history of snakes Giovanna G Montingelli, David J. Gower and Hussam Zaher; 17. The evolution of sperm-storage location in Squamata, with particular reference to snakes Henrique B. Braz and Selma M. Almeida-Santos; 18. An overview of the morphology of oral glands in snakes Leonardo de Oliveira and Hussam Zaher; 19. Macrostomy macrophagy and snake phylogeny David Cundall and Frances Irish; Index.