Titanoboa

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Titanoboa
Temporal range: Paleocene, 60–58Ma
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Illustration by Nobu Tamura
Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Boidae
Subfamily: Boinae
Genus: †Titanoboa
Head et al., 2009
Species: † T. cerrejonensis
Binomial name
Titanoboa cerrejonensis
Head et al., 2009

Titanoboa, pron.: /taɪˌtænəˈboʊ.ə/ ty-TAN-ə-BOH-ə; meaning "titanic boa,"[1] is a genus of snake that lived approximately 60–58 million years ago, during the Paleocene epoch,[2] a 10-million-year period immediately following the dinosaur extinction event.[3] The only known species is Titanoboa cerrejonensis, the largest, longest, and heaviest snake ever discovered,[2] which supplanted the previous record holder, Gigantophis.

Contents

Size [edit]

By comparing the sizes and shapes of its fossilized vertebrae to those of extant snakes, researchers estimated T. cerrejonensis reached a maximum length of 12 to 15 m (40 to 50 ft),[4] weighed about 1,135 kg (2,500 lb).[1]

Comparison with living snakes [edit]

The largest eight of the twenty-eight T. cerrejonensis snakes found are estimated to reach a length of 12.8 ± 2.2 metres (42 ± 7.2 ft). In comparison, the largest extant snakes are the Python reticulatus, which measures up to 8.7 metres (29 ft) long,[5] and the green or common anaconda, which measures up to 5.21 metres (17.1 ft) long[5] and is considered the heaviest snake on Earth. At the other end of the scale, the smallest extant snake is Leptotyphlops carlae, with a length of about 10 centimetres (3.9 in).[6]

Location [edit]

In 2009, the fossils of 28 individual T. cerrejonensis were found in the Cerrejón Formation of the coal mines of Cerrejón in La Guajira, Colombia.[1][2] Prior to this discovery, few fossils of Paleocene-epoch vertebrates had been found in ancient tropical environments of South America.[7] The snake was discovered on an expedition by a team of international scientists led by Jonathan Bloch, a University of Florida vertebrate paleontologist, and Carlos Jaramillo, a paleobotanist from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama.[8]

Climate [edit]

Because snakes are ectothermic, the discovery implies that the tropics, the creature's habitat must have been warmer than previously thought, averaging approximately 30 °C (90 °F).[1][2][9][10] The warmer climate of the Earth during the time of T. cerrejonensis allowed cold-blooded snakes to attain much larger sizes than modern snakes.[11] Today, larger ectothermic animals are found in the tropics, where it is hottest, and smaller ones are found further from the equator.[3]

However, several researchers disagreed with the above estimate. For example, a 2009 study in the journal Nature applying the mathematical model used in the above study to an ancient lizard fossils from temperate Australia predicts that lizards currently living in tropical areas should be capable of reaching 33 feet, which is obviously not the case.[12]

In another critique published in the same journal, Mark Denny, a specialist in biomechanics, noted that the snake was so large and was producing so much metabolic heat that the ambient temperature must have been four to six degrees cooler than the current estimate, or the snake would have overheated.[13]

In popular culture [edit]

In 2011, Charlie Brinson and his team created a 10-metre-long (33 ft) electromechanical, robotic reincarnation of the Titanoboa snake, using twenty high-strength aluminum vertebrae and forty proportional hydraulic cylinders. There are plans to extend it to the full 15-metre (49 ft) length.[14]

On 22 March 2012, a full-scale-model replica of a 15-metre-long (49 ft), 1,100-kilogram (2,425 lb) Titanoboa was displayed in Grand Central Station in New York City. It was a promotion for a TV show on the Smithsonian Channel called "Titanoboa: Monster Snake" which aired 1 April 2012.[15]

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Head, Jason J.; Jonathan I. Bloch, Alexander K. Hastings, Jason R. Bourque, Edwin A. Cadena, Fabiany A. Herrera, P. David Polly, and Carlos A. Jaramillo (2009). "Giant boid snake from the paleocene neotropics reveals hotter past equatorial temperatures.". Nature 457 (7230): 715–718. doi:10.1038/nature07671. PMID 19194448. Retrieved 2009-02-05. 
  2. ^ a b c d Kwok, Roberta (4 February 2009). "Scientists find world's biggest snake". Nature. Retrieved 2009-02-04. 
  3. ^ a b "Science Daily: At 2,500 Pounds And 43 Feet, Prehistoric Snake Is Largest On Record". ScienceDaily. 2009-02-04. Retrieved 2009-02-06. 
  4. ^ "CTV.ca | Ancient, gargantuan snakes ate crocs for breakfast". Retrieved 2009-02-07. 
  5. ^ a b Murphy JC, Henderson RW. 1997. Tales of Giant Snakes: A Historical Natural History of Anacondas and Pythons. Krieger Pub. Co. 221 pp. ISBN 0-89464-995-7.
  6. ^ S. Blair Hedges (August 4, 2008). "At the lower size limit in snakes: two new species of threadsnakes (Squamata: Leptotyphlopidae: Leptotyphlops) from the Lesser Antilles" (PDF). Zootaxa 1841: 1–30. Retrieved 2008-08-04. 
  7. ^ Maugh II, Thomas H. (4 February 2009). "Fossil of 43-foot super snake Titanoboa found in Colombia". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-02-04. 
  8. ^ "At 2,500 Pounds And 43 Feet, Prehistoric Snake Is Largest On Record". Science Daily. February 4, 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-04. 
  9. ^ Joyce, Christopher (5 February 2009). "1-Ton Snakes Once Slithered In The Tropics". NPR. Retrieved 2009-02-05. 
  10. ^ "ScienceDirect - Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology : Climate model sensitivity to atmospheric CO2 levels in the Early–Middle Paleogene". Retrieved 2009-02-07. 
  11. ^ Makarieva, A. M.; Victor G. Gorshkov and Bai-Lian Li (2005-09-14). "Gigantism, temperature and metabolic rate in terrestrial poikilotherms". Proceedings of the Royal Society B 272 (1578): 2325–2328. doi:10.1098/rspb.2005.3223. PMC 1560189. PMID 16191647. Retrieved 2009-02-07. 
  12. ^ J. M. Kale Sniderman. "Biased reptilian palaeothermometer?". Retrieved 2009-07-30. 
  13. ^ Mark W. Denny1, Brent L. Lockwood1 & George N. Somero. "Can the giant snake predict palaeoclimate?". Retrieved 2009-07-30. 
  14. ^ Robotic Titanoboa, official website.
  15. ^ "Titanoboa: Monster Snake", Smithsonian Channel website. The replica is currently on display at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville FL. Last accessed 5 April 2013.

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Titanoboa
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