What size shoe to buy for your snake...

[Sputnik]

Snake with foot found in China - Telegraph

What a shame she killed it! Though I don't blame her- imagine waking up to a snake walking down your bedroom wall!

Don't you think it looks a little like a skink in the middle?

[adamanteus]

It's swallowed a lizard, which has then forced it's foot through the side of the snake (hence the bulge in it's belly).

[GarterGeek]

It's swallowed a lizard, which has then forced it's foot through the side of the snake (hence the bulge in it's belly).

That makes sense, but wouldn't there be blood or exposed tissue of some sort?

Strange story...

[Stefan-A]

Nevermind.

[Sputnik]

Makes sense of course.

[drache]

that's creepy in an H.P.Lovecraft sort of way

[adamanteus]

Not necessarily. There appears to be a ring of swollen tissue aroung the protuding limb, this could be infection.
I don't believe it's any form of atavism (ancestral 'throw-back' such as vestigial limbs in pythons or little tails on humans) as the limb is in the wrong place. Also the obvious meal in the snakes' belly seems a little coincidental.

[Sputnik]

While trying to work out what type of snake it is, using google images (maybe an indo-chinese rat snake?), I came across this thread:

Snake with claw stuns scientists?, page 1

Most people seem to be of the same opinion as James. There's a picture near the bottom of the page where someone drew in a possibly swallowed lizard's body.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

LOL. People never cease to amaze me. Clearly, the snake has just eaten. Clearly, the snake overdid it. If a snake somehow DID miraculously spawn a lizard arm, I don't think it would be coming out of it's stomach, that's the wrong place for an arm anyways!

[zooplan]

The snake was preserved in alkohol, prior to the photo so don´t look for blood. That´s part of a very special and expensive liquor now
The article seems to be published in a very serious journal, isn´t it?