Titanoboa

Titanoboa, (Titanoboa cerrejonensis), extinct snake that lived during the Paleocene Epoch (66 million to 56 million years ago), considered to be the largest known member of the suborder Serpentes. Titanoboa is known from several fossils that have been dated to 58 million to 60 million years ago. From extrapolations of body size made from excavated vertebrae (individual sections of the backbone), paleontologists have estimated that the body length of the average adult Titanoboa was roughly 13 metres (42.7 feet) and the average weight about 1,135 kg (1.25 tons). Titanoboa is related to living anacondas and boas, but it is uncertain whether it was more closely related to one or another of these modern constrictor snakes.

Titanoboa was first described in 2009, some five years after it was excavated from rocks exposed at the Cerrejón coal mine in Colombia, which lies to the west of the mouth of Lake Maracaibo. The remains of approximately 30 individuals have been recovered. The majority are adults, but some juveniles have been found. Most specimens are made up of vertebrae and ribs, which is typical of snake fossils. It is estimated that Titanoboa may have had more than 250 vertebrae. At least one nearly complete specimen with a skull has been recovered. The presence of such a large number of individuals displaying the same gigantic proportions demonstrates that 13-metre lengths were probably the norm for adults of this species. By comparison, adult anacondas average about 6.5 metres (21.3 feet) in length, whereas record-breaking anacondas are about 9 metres (about 29.5 feet) long. No living snake has ever been found with a verified length in excess of 9.6 metres (about 31.5 feet).

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The snake’s enormous size is thought to be closely tied to the climate of the Paleocene. Snakes, similar to other poikilothermic (cold-blooded) animals, have metabolic rates that are influenced by the temperature of the ambient environment. To maintain normal growth, snakes must have the proper amount of warmth. A snake would need an exceptionally warm environment, such as the one that characterized the Paleocene, to grow as large as Titanoboa. The coals mined at Cerrejón are formed from deposits left by an extensive Paleocene swamp situated along the margins of an ancient shallow sea, which sat at the base of the early precursors of the Andes Mountains. This ancient environment had been similar in composition to the swamps of the Mississippi River delta or Everglades in North America; however, it was situated in the tropics at a time when Earth’s climate was exceptionally warm.

Titanoboa probably spent much of its time in the water. The sedimentary structure of the region’s rocks and the preservation of water-loving organisms (such as mangrovelike plants, crocodilians, turtles, and fishes) as fossils in the strata indicate that the region was waterlogged. Similarly, modern anacondas spend most of their time in or near the water, where they hide amid vegetation in the shallows and ambush prey. It is extremely likely that Titanoboa had similar habits, because the animal’s large size would have made living on land awkward or impossible.