Titanoboa: The Monster Snake that Ruled Prehistoric Colombia

 

You may not want to read about this frightening creature if you suffer from ophidiophobia, or even if you are about to embark on a camping trip. Once the largest snake in the world, Titanoboa fossils discovered in Colombia reveal that it lived during the Paleocene epoch about 60 million years ago. Even though you’re safe from its bone-crushing grip today, the thought of the huge prehistoric snake slithering around South America is still a terrifying one.

So far, the South American nation of Colombia has the only known fossils of the huge serpent. It is through these scant remains that paleontologists were able to estimate the size of this prehistoric creature. This estimation was then used to create a life-size model of Titanoboa, which was exhibited in 2012 in New York City’s Grand Central Terminal as a promotion for the Smithsonian Channel documentary entitled  Titanoboa: Monster Snake.

Titanoboa: The Titanic Boa of Antiquity

Titanoboa, meaning “gigantic snake,” perfectly suits this ancient serpent's colossal proportions. Known to have existed during the Paleocene, tens of millions of years after the extinction event that wiped out the non-avian dinosaurs about 66 million years ago, it represents a fascinating chapter in the evolution of Earth's fauna.

Paleontologists estimate that Titanoboa could have reached lengths ranging between 42 and 49 feet (approximately 12.8 to 14.9 m)—as long as a school bus!—and weighed an astonishing 2500 pounds (1134 kg). Additionally, the thickest part of the snake's body is estimated to have had a diameter of 3 feet (approximately 0.9 meters).

Before the Era of Dinosaurs, There Was a Ten-Legged Octopus

The Giant Anaconda: Is There a Monster in the Amazon?

By comparison, the anaconda, one of today's largest snakes, can exceed 20 feet (6.1 m) in length and weigh over 500 pounds (227 kg). Titanoboa was clearly a giant compared to the largest snakes of modern times. But it wasn’t the only giant snake in the world. A few million years later, about 40 to 38 million years ago, Gigantophis existed in what is now North Africa, reaching lengths of around 33 feet (about 10 m).

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