Its large size has also led to additional theories about the temperature during this era, suggesting it was hotter than previously theorized. Based on the only fossils that have been discovered, Titanoboa existed between approximately 58 and 60 million years ago, making it older than Gigantophis, and placing it toward the end of the Paleocene era. Titanoboa inhabited the northern areas of present-day Colombia in South America. In 2009, paleontologists discovered a new species known as the Titanoboa, which translates to “Titanic Boa.” Fossil discoveries show that this extinct species grew to about 42 feet in length, making it at least 7 feet longer than Gigantophis.
Was the Gigantophis the Largest Snake Ever?ĭespite its enormous size, Gigantophis was not actually the largest snake to have ever lived. Some evidence, however, suggests that Gigantophis may also have killed and consumed the ancestors of modern-day elephants. Most paleontologists who have studied Gigantophis believe the species relied on medium-sized animals to fulfill their dietary needs. This practice is in contrast to venomous snakes, which bite and inject poison in order to kill their prey. The longest venomous snake, with a length up to 18.518.8 ft (5.65.7 m), is the king cobra, and the. They include anacondas, pythons and boa constrictors, which are all non-venomous constrictors. Researchers determined that the snake species was a type of constrictor, which means that it killed its prey by wrapping around it and squeezing. The largest living snakes in the world, measured either by length or by weight, are various members of the Boidae and Pythonidae families. Additionally, its existence on Earth may have extended into the prior era, known as the Paleocene. Continued studies of this species indicate that it may have existed for a longer period of time during the Eocene era than previously estimated. Recently, Gigantophis fossils have also been found in present-day Pakistan. On a muggy day about 10 years ago in the Florida Everglades, Jack Shealy was riding his bike along a dirt road. Gigantophis slid its way across the area between present-day Egypt and Algeria, in the northern Sahara region of Africa approximately 40 million years ago. The Largest Snake in the World Has Invaded the United States. Fossil records show that this now-extinct species grew to between 30.5 and 35.1 feet in length on average. The Gigantophis Snakeīetween 19, paleontology records indicated that Gigantophis was the largest snake to have ever existed on Earth.
Some of the largest snakes alive today have average lengths of between 17 and 30 feet, and even these impressive numbers do not represent the largest snake to have ever lived. Not all snakes have a small size, however. One of the principal reasons that the evolution of snakes continues to be an unanswered question is that the skeletons of snakes and their ancestors are generally small and easily broken, meaning the fossils available are incomplete. Many paleontologists agree that these animals evolved from land-roaming lizards, although some theories suggest that snakes evolved from a now-extinct ocean-dwelling reptile. Snakes have been slithering over the surface of the Earth for over 150 million years.
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