The largest snake in the era of dinosaurs. A huge ancient snake may appear on earth again. Titanoboa was a boa constrictor, but hunted like a crocodile

The reticulated python is the largest snake living on Earth; it is a real giant of the snake world, weighing up to 200 kg and medium length bodies 5-8, rarely more than 10 meters. But even it pales in comparison to Titanoboa, a monster that lived 58-60 million years ago.

Titanoboa (lat. Titanoboa cerrejonensis) is the most big snake over the entire history of the Earth, the body length of this reptile was 13 meters, according to some estimates - up to 15 m, and the weight was very close to 1000 kg.

Titanoboa in natural environment habitat in the artist's imagination.

We learned about the giant snake relatively recently, in 2009, during excavations in a coal mine near the Colombian town of Cerrejon. An international team of biologists and paleontologists managed to discover in the mine, former millions years ago bottom large river the remains of several previously unknown species of fish and turtles, and the fossilized skeleton of a snake huge size. Having examined the find in detail, scientists realized that they had made a sensational discovery.

Titanoboa belongs to the family of pseudopods, which includes modern giants: anacondas and boa constrictors. The skeletal structure of Titanoboa cerrejonensis is indeed similar to that of pseudopods, but some experts call this only a similarity and insist on placing the prehistoric snake in a new family.

Titanoboa sculpture by famous Chinese artist Huang Yongping. The proportions are respected.

Interestingly, Titanoboa appeared shortly after the extinction of dinosaurs. She probably became the most large predator of its time, occupying the niche vacated by tyrannosaurs and their relatives.

On land, the snake was rather slow and clumsy, and probably had no idea real threat for animals that can move more or less quickly. Titanoboa posed a much greater danger when in water. It is not known for certain whether Titanoboa cerrejonensis hunted crocodiles and alligators, but it could undoubtedly cope with such large and dangerous opponents.

Like its modern descendants, Titanoboa was not poisonous. The snake dealt with its victims in the same way as anacondas and boa constrictors - by entwining and squeezing the prey.

Scientific interest in the most big snake is also supported by the fact that a creature of this size simply would not survive in modern climatic conditions. To maintain the vital functions of the cold-blooded 13-meter reptile, it needs a warmer climate with an average annual temperature of 30-34°C. Apparently, 60 million years ago, just such a warm climate was characteristic of the Earth.

Reconstruction of a snake in full height. Body length - 10 meters. Written by Charlie Brinson

The largest snake in the history of the Earth, Titanoboa is a terrible South American monster that appeared a little later than the era of dinosaurs.

In the last decade, scientists working in open-pit coal mines have discovered the remains of a monster that can terrify even the biggest daredevils, except for passionate reptile fans. The monster named Titanoboa cerrejonensis- a giant relative of modern boas. The length of Titanoboa reached 15 meters, and the approximate weight, according to scientists, could be 1135 kg.

For comparison: the largest surviving snake, the reticulated python, grows up to 8.8 m, and the heaviest giant anaconda weighs no more than 100 kg. In addition, the titanoboa's body girth reached up to 90 cm: this snake was not only the longest and heaviest, but also the thickest! In size, the ancient reptile dwarfs any of its modern relatives.

Titanoboa was a product of the so-called greenhouse period, when shortly after the extinction of the dinosaurs, the temperature on Earth sharply increased. The peak of the greenhouse period occurred approximately 58-60 million years ago, in the middle of the Paleocene. If Titanoboa were cold-blooded animals, like modern snakes, then, according to scientists, they could live in conditions where average annual temperature did not fall below 30-34°C. However, some experts believe that the huge mass helped titanoboa retain heat, so such a monster was able to survive at lower temperatures.

Like its modern relatives, this huge snake could go without food for quite a long time, but when it did eat, it ate a LOT! The monster squeezed its victim ten times harder than a boa constrictor, and thanks to its wide-opening jaws it could swallow the “dinner” whole...

According to one hypothesis, this scary predator hunted large crocodiles that lived among swamps and swamps.

a brief description of

Name: Titanoboa.
Latin name: Titanoboa cerrejonensis.
Period: 58-60 million years ago.
Family: Pseudopods (boas).
Size: Length - up to 15 meters, body girth - 90 centimeters.
Habitat: Tropical swamp forests.
Findings: Coal mines of Zorrejon (Colombia).

Millions of years after the extinction of the dinosaurs, there was a species of snake that excites the mind with its gigantic size alone. 60-58 million years ago in the swampy jungles of Colombia lived Titanoboa. The snake, like a boa constrictor, reached a length of 15 meters and weighed up to a ton.

Size Titanoboa could be attributed to the climate in which he lived. Warmer climates usually mean more vegetation, which means more prey, which were also larger than prey living in cooler conditions.

Canadian and American zoologists, having done comparative analysis skeleton, they came to the conclusion that the snake could reach up to 13 meters in length and weigh more than a ton. The largest snake that has survived to this day, the reticulated python, reaches 8.7 meters in length. The smallest snake, Leptotyphlops carlae, is only 10 centimeters long.

Vertebra of Titanoboa and modern middle snake

This colossal snake looked like a modern common boa constrictor, but acted more like today's anaconda living in the Amazon jungle. It was a slimy swamp dweller and a huge predator that was able to eat any animal it hunted. The diameter of his body was close to the waist size of a man of our time.

In the swampy jungle, the Titanoboa's life was surprisingly long due to the constant, incessant rain, abundant vegetation and living creatures. Deep-water rivers allowed the snake to both go deep and crawl around palm trees and hilly jungles.

The river basin in which Titanoboa fed was overcrowded giant turtles and crocodiles of at least three different varieties. Also lived here giant fish, three times larger than the current inhabitants of the Amazon.

On March 22, 2012, a 14-meter-long reconstruction of a Titanoboa skeleton, created for the Smithsonian Channel's popular science program Titanoboa: Monster Snake, dedicated to Titanoboa, was presented at Grand Central Station in New York.

American scientists have established that millions of years ago a giant boa constrictor lived on Earth. This discovery allows us not only to learn more about the past, but perhaps also to look into the future.

Titanoboa model

The reptile weighed more than a ton and was 14 meters long. She could swallow a whole crocodile and not choke.

But until a few years ago, scientists had no idea about the existence of this fossil animal.

"Even in our wildest dreams we could not imagine that we would find a 14-meter boa constrictor. The largest of modern snakes is twice smaller in size" says Carlos Jaramillo from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and one of the authors of the discovery.

The snake that received Latin name Titanoboa cerrejonensis (the colossal boa from Caerrejon) is said to be a distant relative of the anaconda and the modern boa constrictor. It was not poisonous, but killed its victims with enormous compressive force: more than 180 kg per 6.4 square meters. cm. Approximately the same load would be received by a person who fell under a load weighing one and a half times the Brooklyn Bridge.

Fossils of a giant snake were found during excavations in an open-pit coal mine in the town of Querrejon in Colombia. In 2002, scientists discovered fossils of a Paleocene-era tropical jungle at the site—perhaps even the very first such forest on the planet.

In addition to fossilized plants, many reptiles were found, the size of which amazed the imagination.

"We discovered lost World giant reptiles: turtles the size of kitchen tables and the largest fossil crocodiles in the history of research," says Jonathan Bloch, an expert in vertebrate evolution at the University of Florida.

Among the finds was a giant snake.

"After the extinction of the dinosaurs, this animal, Titanoboa, was the most big predator on Earth, and this continued for about 10 million years, explains Bloch. “It was a very large animal, no matter how you look at it.”

In search of fossil skulls

However, to get a complete picture of what the prehistoric snake looked like, what it ate, and how it relates to the modern animal world, scientists needed to study the remains of the reptile's skull.

"After the dinosaurs went extinct 60 million years ago, it was much hotter at the equator than it is today. We think that's why reptiles grew to be very large sizes"(Jonathan Bloch.)

Last year, a special team was sent to Colombia to search for the Titanoboa skull. research group, which, however, had little hope of success. The fact is that the bones of a snake skull are very fragile, and very few fossil skulls have survived to this day.

"Unlike our skulls, the bones in a snake's skull are not held together. They are held together by tissue," says Jason Head, a serpentologist at the university. American state Nebraska.

“When an animal dies, the connective tissues decompose and the individual bones usually disperse,” the scientist continues. “They are also very thin and fragile and often break down. But because Titanoboa was so large and had very large bones, this is one of the few snakes that we know from fossils."

To the amazement of the team, they were able to discover the remains of three skulls, with which they were able to completely reconstruct the skull of a giant reptile for the first time.

Thus, it was possible to better learn about how Titanoboa lived and looked like. A life-size replica of the snake is now on display at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in the United States. In 2013, the exhibit will go on tour across America.

The discovery of a new species of huge fossil snake helps scientists not only learn about the ancient animal world, but also gain new information about history earth's climate. This means that fossils can tell us about the effects of current global warming.

Snakes are unable to regulate their temperature and depend on external heat to survive.

"Tropical plants and ecosystems can cope with high temperatures And high level carbon dioxide. And this is another one serious problem, which is associated with the current trend of global warming" (Carlos Jaramillo).

"We think Titanoboa got so big because after the dinosaurs went extinct 60 million years ago, it was much hotter at the equator than it is today. We think that's why reptiles grew to very large sizes."

Bloch notes that the ability of animals to survive in high temperatures may become relevant again if climate scientists' predictions regarding global warming come true.

The ability to develop rapidly in warm climates can play a role important role, if global temperatures rise as climate scientists predict, Bloch added.

"This is evidence that ecosystems can develop at the temperatures expected for the next hundred or two hundred years," he said.

Return of Titanoboa?

However climate change, leading to the emergence of Titanoboa, took place over millions of years. Scientists are less certain about the effects of sudden temperature changes.

"Biology is surprisingly adaptable. Changes in climate and living conditions on continents are the stimulus for evolution. But what happens very quickly can lead to changes that can hardly be assessed positively," says Bloch.

During the period of existence of the Querrejon tropical forests The level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 50% higher than today.

"The Carrejon fossils taught us an important lesson: we learned that tropical plants and ecosystems can cope with high temperatures and high carbon dioxide levels. And this is another serious problem associated with the current trend of global warming,” says Carlos Jaramillo.

“Plants and animals in the tropics may already have the genetic ability to cope with global warming,” the researcher believes.

Does this mean the giant snake Titanoboa could be back?

"As temperatures rise, there's a chance they'll come back," Jaramillo says. – It takes geological time of the order of a million years for a new species of animal to appear. But they can come back!"

When we talk about giant reptiles, we most often think of a boa constrictor or an anaconda. Scientists have long assumed that larger animals of this class existed in the prehistoric world. These guesses received scientific confirmation only in 2009 thanks to an unexpected archaeological find. And now we know for sure that the Titanoboa snake is the largest that has ever existed on our planet.

Sensational archaeological find

In 2009, during excavations, fossils of a giant snake were discovered in coal mines in Colombia. The remains were in fairly good condition and made it possible to study in detail an animal previously unknown to science. Specialists managed to collect and restore the complete

The ancient reptile dates back to the Paleocene era. The giant snake received the name “Titanoboa” (Titanoboa cerrejonensis), which literally translates as “Giant Boa Constrictor.” Scientists suggest that these monsters appeared about 10 million years after. It turns out that giant reptiles lived in the territory of modern Colombia about 60 million years ago.

How long is the giant snake?

Found during archaeological excavations fossils allow for complete reconstruction appearance and the outstanding size of the ancient monster. Scientists have found that the Titanoboa snake reached a length of 15 meters. At the same time, the thickness of the reptile’s body exceeded the waist circumference of the average person. At its thickest point, the snake's body girth could reach 100 centimeters.

The direct descendants of Titanoboa are modern boa constrictors. Presumably, the ancient monster also wrapped itself around and squeezed its prey in a fatal embrace. But during the meal, the extinct snake Titanoboa looked more like a modern anaconda. This reptile could swallow almost any animal and was on top the food chain. According to experts, the weight of a well-fed Titanoboa could exceed 1 ton.

Like its descendants, the Titanoboa snake was not poisonous. Thanks to its size and developed muscles, this reptile easily coped with adult alligators.

The discovery of the fossilized remains of a giant snake gave rise to thinking about the climatic conditions in the animal’s habitat. Most scientists agree that the reptile felt great in hot and humid conditions. tropical climate. Some experts, on the contrary, believe that the average annual temperature in the study area has risen by several degrees over the past millions of years. According to their calculations, the giant snake produced too much metabolic heat while digesting food. At excessively elevated temperatures, the reptile would simply overheat.

Scientists agree on only one thing: titanoboa is an extinct species of snake that can hunt in water and on land. Despite its fantastic size, the reptile moved as quickly as its modern descendants. This means that the animal chosen by the snake as prey simply had no chance.

Titanoboa in art and popular culture

Legends about giant snakes are present in the cultural traditions of many countries around the world. Who knows, maybe our ancestors actually sometimes met with descendants of Titanoboa, larger in size than modern boa constrictors?

The skeleton of a giant ancient snake is now on display in the New York Museum, and anyone can see it with their own eyes. IN National Museum Natural History (Washington) you can see a stunning sculpture. There, in the middle of the exhibition hall, a Titanoboa snake, made in its real scale, swallows an alligator.

National Geographical Society created a detailed documentary, telling about a giant reptile. Titanoboa appears and in contemporary art in the image of an ancient creepy monster. For example, this snake can be seen in the second episode of the series “Portal Jurassic period: New world".

Do giant snakes exist today?

More recently, the very fact of the existence of such a large snake was just a bold hypothesis. What if animals like Titanoboa still live in the least explored parts of our planet? Even reputable researchers put forward such an assumption from time to time. However, to date it has not been possible to confirm it.

The record holders in the world of creeping creatures are still the boa constrictor and the anaconda. The descendants of the legendary Titanoboa - modern pythons - usually have a length of up to 10 meters. The anaconda is considered the heaviest snake; the weight of an individual individual can reach 95 kilograms.

It's not easy to imagine ancient giant, looking at modern photos snake. Titanoboa was longer than a standard passenger bus, and could easily swallow an adult.