Titanoboa lived over 60 million years ago in an era called the Paleocene Epoch. Its fossils were found in a coal mine in Colombia, where it gets its name, titanoboa cerrejonensis. Sounds scary, right? Don't worry it gets much worse than that. You have probably have heard of huge snakes that "swallow" up humans, like the anaconda, and pythons. But titanoboa makes those seem laughable. Introducing the 40 foot snake, titanoboa. Imagine two adult giraffes laid on their sides, one after the other, and titanoboa would still be longer! In addition, this creature was 3 feet in thickness, so up to an adult's waist, and weighed 1.4 tons, the same as a sudan!
Did you know that the largest snake living today was only half the size of titanoboa? It was so big it could swallow a hippopotamus whole, but unfourtunately for it, they didn't exist at the time. They lived in swamps and rivers, where they could easily find their favorite food, large fish. It liked a warm climate, which made the animal so huge. It could be found in Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, and neighbouring countries. The amazon rainforest was a perfect place for it to rule. Although scientists have only found about 30 individuals, titanoboa was most likely a huge presence for the animals of the time. When titanoboa killed, it did so in an exteremly sophisticated manner. In a sharp attack, it quickly wrapped its large body around its victim and strangled it. When it died, it was swallowed whole. And on the inside, it was even more of a nightmare. It faced compression of weight more than the brooklyn bridge, which helped it digest, and it stayed there for a very long time. Titanoboa's massive size helped it find food very easily. You can see the difference in size just from the vertebrae. In the picture below, the left vertebrae is the anaconda, and on the right, titanoboa.
Titanoboa loved the hot climate, and that had a lot of effect on its size. When climate gets hotter, animals get much bigger. Back then, temperatures were at least 15 degrees hotter than today. And with climate change on the rise, titanoboa might just come back. Luckily for us, that would take millions of years. The only reason titanoboa died out, was because the climate plummeted and suited smaller snakes, like the ones we see today. It is very interesting for scientists to find large creatures like titanoboa in million years after dinosaurs died out.
If it existed today, a lot of things would change. We would have to be more careful of titanoboa comes into houses. It could easily break down doors, windows, and walls, but this heavy creature could not go unnoticed. We would also need guns that would zap them to death in a worst case scenario. Many people would install high-voltage fences around their homes to keep this giant out. However, it is rare for large snakes to try to attack humans, or go into houses. In cities, it would be impossible for titanoboa to live. If seen, it would be dead in a few seconds. Food for it would be scarce for it there and the climate conditions would not suit it. In other areas, it would be hunted for its skin and body parts, and any zoo that managed to get a hold on this massive reptile would be a huge attraction. Titanoboa would find things to eat, like dolphins, crocodiles, and large turtles. And in the case that titanoboa returned from heat upwards to 90 degrees, other animals would become larger, a win-win situation for titanoboa. For all the animals that it would eat, the food chain would be broken, animals would become endangered left and right. In addition, the lush forests of the amazon and its wildlife could vanish. It would be a very difficult situation to deal with, and I am glad 40 foot snakes are a thing of the past. Titanoboa is an amazing and unique animal.