Titanoboa Monster Snake
Titanoboa cerrejonensis is an extinct genus of snakes that is known to have lived in present-day La Guajira in northern Colombia. Fossils of Titanoboa have been found in the Cerrejón Formation,and date to around 58 to 60 million years ago. The giant snake lived during the Middle to Late Paleocene epoch, a 10-million-year period immediately following the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event.The only known species is Titanoboa cerrejonensis, the largest snake ever discovered, which supplanted the previous record holder, Gigantophis.
Fossils of the extinct snake species, now called Titanoboa cerrejonensis,
were discovered in the Cerrejon Coal Mine in northern Colombia. From
the fossilized vertebrae, the researchers conservatively estimate the
snake weighed about 2,500 pounds (1,140 kg) and measured nearly 43 feet
(13 meters) from nose to tail tip.
A colossal snake about the length of a school bus slithered about South America's rainforests some 60 million years ago, according to an analysis of the skeletal remains of what is now considered the largest snake ever identified.
"It's the biggest snake(Titanoboa) the world has ever known," said Jason Head, a paleontologist at the University of Toronto Mississauga and part of an international team who discovered and identified the snake bones. He added, "The snake's body was so wide that if it were moving down the hall and decided to come into my office to eat me, it would literally have to squeeze through the door."
Harry W. Greene, professor in the department of ecology and evolutionary biology at Cornell University and one of the world's leading snake experts, said the "colossal" ancient boa researchers found has "important implications for snake biology and our understanding of life in the ancient tropics."
"The giant Colombian snake -Titanoboa is a truly exciting discovery," said Greene, who wrote the book "Snakes: The Evolution of Mystery in Nature." "For decades herpetologists have argued about just how big snakes can get, with debatable estimates of the max somewhat less than 40 feet."
Titanoboa Facts
- Titanoboa - means Titanic boa
- It is the only known species in the genus and is the biggest, longest, and heaviest snake ever discovered, as it supplanted the Gigantophis the previous record holder at 33 ft.
- It was approximately 50 feet long and weighed around 2,500 pounds.
- The gigantic snake could swallow a crocodile.
- Like most modern snake species, they were expert ambush predators, capable of striking at an incredible speed at unsuspecting prey.
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