Artist's impression of Titanoboa cerrejonesis / Photo from National Geographic.com
Everybody is afraid of snakes (including me). But I cant imagine seeing this newly discovered snake, Titanoboa cerrejonesis, an ancient kind of anaconda to be longer than a bus and weighing more than a ton. Now that would really freak me out. But dont worry, what they have discovered is only the fossil. And the remains are discovered in Colombia, which makes me wonder more – Why are animals are larger in Latin America than from the rest of the world?
From the article in National Geographic.com:
Fossils found in northeastern Colombia’s Cerrejon coal mine indicate the reptile, dubbed Titanoboa cerrejonesis, was at least 42 feet (13 meters) long and weighed 2,500 pounds (1,135 kilograms).
“That’s longer than a city bus and … heavier than a car,” said lead study author Jason Head, a fossil-snake expert at the University of Toronto Mississauga in Canada and a research associate with the Smithsonian Institution.
Source:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/02/090204-biggest-snake-fossil.html
possum1027 said
I had a nightmare about this snake the other night. Even small snakes terrify me.
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antsy said
You may have a fear of snakes. But chill… this one is an ancient snake. The largest modern snake that we have is the anaconda which is definitely way smaller than this one.