Giant snakes are a common theme in mythology, horror stories, and even in Hollywood movies - think for example of the 1997 Jennifer Lopez movie, Ananconda. However a recent discovery has surprised scientists by revealed that in the past there were snakes even large than depicted in horror movies.
Titanoboa cerrejonensis was a giant snake that lived in Columbia in the Paleocene epoch, between about 60 million and 58 million years ago. Like its modern relatives in the boa family, it was non-venomous and killed its prey by wrapping itself around them crushing them until they died of suffocation ("constriction").
The surprising thing about Titanoboa is its enormous size. You may have thought that the snakes depicted in the movie Ananconda were big, but Titanoboa was larger still. It is believed to have been around 43 feet (15 meters) long, around 3 feet (1 meter) in diameter, and probably weighed over 1 ton. This is considerably larger than any living species of snake.
It is not entirely clear how Titanoboa managed to grow so big. One possibility is that the warmer climate of the time (the Earth is believed to have been on average about 5 degrees warmer during that period than today) may have been a contributing factor.
Another question is what kind of diet Titanoboa would have eaten. Today's constricting snakes most likely on a diet of relatively small animals, such as small mammals and birds. Titanoboa, given its enormous size, would have needed more food - so it is thought possible that its diet may have included crocodiles and large turtles.
Today the largest snake in the world is the reticulated python, Python reticulatus which lives in Southeast Asia, and grows to a maximum of about 32 feet (10 meters) in length. The heaviest snake alive is Eunectes murinus, commonly known as the anaconda which normally grows to a maximum of about 20 feet (6 meters) in length, but occasionally grows as long as 25 feet (7.6 meters), and weighs around 100 pounds (45 kilograms). And, despite extensive searching, and even cash rewards of $50,000 offered by the Wildlife Conservation Society, no live snake longer than 30 feet (9.1 meters) has yet been found.
However, neither the reticulated python nor the anaconda can hold a candle in comparison to an ancient snake known as Titanoboa cerrejonensis. This giant snake lived in tropical rainforests that covered the region that is today the country of Columbia. It inhabited this area during the Paleocene epoch, between about 60 million years ago and 58 million years ago. In terms of size, Titanoboa is believed to have grown to about 43 feet (15 meters) in length, would have had a diameter of over 1 meter (3 feet), and almost certainly weighed more than 1 ton.
Titanoboa, like most other large snakes, was non-venomous. Instead, it was an ambush predator that would have killed its prey by constriction. Titanoboa would lay motionless in wait until prey approached, and then suddenly and without warning, when the prey came within reach it would pounce, wrapping itself around its victim. Slowly and gradually, it would tighten its body around that of the victim, until the prey eventually suffocated to death.
Today the largest snake in the world is the reticulated python, Python reticulatus which lives in Southeast Asia, and grows to a maximum of about 32 feet (10 meters) in length. The heaviest snake alive is Eunectes murinus, commonly known as the anaconda which normally grows to a maximum of about 20 feet (6 meters) in length, but occasionally grows as long as 25 feet (7.6 meters), and weighs around 100 pounds (45 kilograms). And, despite extensive searching, and even cash rewards of $50,000 offered by the Wildlife Conservation Society, no live snake longer than 30 feet (9.1 meters) has yet been found.
However, neither the reticulated python nor the anaconda can hold a candle in comparison to an ancient snake known as Titanoboa cerrejonensis. This giant snake lived in tropical rainforests that covered the region that is today the country of Columbia. It inhabited this area during the Paleocene epoch, between about 60 million years ago and 58 million years ago. In terms of size, Titanoboa is believed to have grown to about 43 feet (15 meters) in length, would have had a diameter of over 1 meter (3 feet), and almost certainly weighed more than 1 ton.
Titanoboa, like most other large snakes, was non-venomous. Instead, it was an ambush predator that would have killed its prey by constriction. Titanoboa would lay motionless in wait until prey approached, and then suddenly and without warning, when the prey came within reach it would pounce, wrapping itself around its victim. Slowly and gradually, it would tighten its body around that of the victim, until the prey eventually suffocated to death.
