Titanoboa: The Largest Snake In The World
Snakes have been around since the Jurassic, when dinosaurs ruled the Earth. In all this time, they have diversified into incredible species. One of them is Titanoboa cerrejonensis , the largest snake ever discovered.
This animal could easily reach twice the size of the 2 snakes competing for the record today: the green anaconda and the reticulated python. Although these animals command respect, they have nothing to do with the ancient titan. If you want to learn more about this Titanoboa and its discovery, we invite you to continue reading.
Habitat and characteristics of Titanoboa
Titanoboa was a boido, that is, it belonged to the same family as the boas and anacondas that exist today. As such, it had many similarities to these snakes, which have made it possible to find out aspects of their biology.
Titanoboa’s vertebrae are the largest ever found for a snake, each measuring over 10 centimeters. Based on them, it is estimated that the snake could range between 12 and 14 meters in length.
However, this snake was not only long. As with today’s boidos, it was also broad and stout. Estimates place the weight of this immense reptile at around 1,135 kilograms.
The heaviest snake in existence today is the green anaconda ( Eunectes murinus ). Despite this, the largest ever recorded individuals of E. murinus only reach a fifth of the normal weight of Titanoboa . In addition, the vast majority of anacondas do not grow that long.
This puts into perspective how impressive Titanoboa was in life. At this size, it is one of the largest land animals that lived during the Paleocene and Eocene, if not the largest.
How was it discovered?
The fossils of this animal were found in the Cerrejón formation, in Colombia. This inhospitable place is a massive coal mining operation, but it also contains one of the richest fossil deposits in South America.
Colombian geologists began to discover the treasures that this place housed 27 years ago. They also organized expeditions with American paleontologists starting in 2003. This international team was discovering and investigating the abundant fossil remains of Cerrejón.
Many of the fossils were preserved and transported for later study. This work requires huge amounts of time, so it is normal that the fossils finish being described later after their discovery.
Going through some of these old bones that they had classified as crocodiles, the researchers realized a mistake. The vertebrae were so big it looked crazy, but they belonged to a prehistoric snake. After that, they searched among all the specimens they had accumulated and organized new expeditions to Colombia.
Years later, these paleontologists had collected about 100 vertebrae from 18 different individuals and contacted even more scientists. In 2009, after the realization of complex computational models and a huge amount of work, the article that showed Titanoboa to the rest of the world saw the light.
The snake ecosystem
The Cerrejón contains the remains of many extinct animals and perhaps something even more important. The first South American tropical forests covered these mines millions of years ago. These ecosystems were similar to those present, with large rivers, swamps, and lush vegetation.
In these swampy areas of the first tropical forests Titanoboa inhabited . Of course, there were differences with the forests of today. The rainfall was higher and the temperature was much warmer.
The latter has been ascertained using the size of the giant snake. The maximum size that poikilothermic animals – “cold-blooded” – reach is mediated by the temperature of their environment. With higher temperatures, poikilotherms can get bigger.
The approximate 13 meters of Titanoboa indicate that it lived in an extremely hot climate, with an annual average of between 32 and 33 degrees Celsius. Also, other large vertebrates inhabited this ecosystem. Among them are ancient crocodiles, turtles and lungfish.
Similarities to current snakes
This snake was strikingly similar to its current relatives. It lived in ecosystems very similar to green anacondas and its biology is also reminiscent of them.
For example, Titanoboa was a semi-aquatic animal, spending a great deal of its life camouflaged in swampy waters. From the bottom of the water, it stalked its potential prey.
With its enormous size, this snake could feed on any other animal in the ecosystem, including crocodiles and turtles. Despite this, the characteristics of its jaw and dentition indicate that it may have mainly fed on fish. This would be a unique trait among his relatives.
Like the rest of the cattle, this animal was not venous. Instead, he subdued his prey by constriction: he wrapped himself around them and squeezed them with his muscular body, until he suffocated or cardiac arrest.
Titanoboa cerrejonensis was a spectacular animal, but the formation of the Cerrejón still holds many mysteries. Thanks to the tireless work of dedicated paleontologists, other impressive beings that once populated the first rainforests may be discovered in the future.
