Some 58 million years ago, a gargantuan snake patrolled the rivers of Colombia.
NamedTitanoboa cerrejonensis,animal swims those waters no more. Expertsaren't sure whythe reptile died out. Maybe climate change did this species in — or perhaps it just couldn't compete with the big, carnivorous mammals who later arrived on the scene.
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What wedoknow is thatTitanoboawas absolutely, positively gigantic. Although nobody's ever found a complete skeleton, paleontologists have an assortment ofTitanoboafossils to go on, including ribs, backbones and pieces of skull.
They paint a striking image of the long-extinct creature. Judging by the available remains, it seemsTitanoboacould have probably weighed over 1.25 tons (over 1.13 metric tons) and surpassed 42 feet (12.8 meters) in length.
That would make it the largest known snake of all time.
But needless to say, a lot of things have changed over the past 58 million years. Today, you and I share this planet with more than 3,000 recognized snake species. Somecatch live batson the fly; someplay dead; a few of them evenglide down from treetopslike skinny parachuters.
And in our post-Titanoboaworld, the reigning heavyweight champion, the bulkiestlivingsnake, is another South American river giant. Put your hands together forEunectes murinus, akathe biggest snake in the world,green anaconda.
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