Jump to content

Titanoboa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by UCaetano (talk | contribs) at 14:38, 20 February 2009 (Reverted 1 edit by 71.247.237.40 identified as vandalism to last revision by Xqbot. (TW)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Titanoboa
Temporal range: 60–58 Ma
↓
 Paleocene
File:Titanoboa cerrejonensis restos fosiles.jpg
Titanoboa vertebrae (top & middle), Anaconda vertebrae & skull (bottom).
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Subkingdom:
Eumetazoa
Phylum:
Chordata
Subphylum:
Vertebrata
Class:
Reptilia
Subclass:
Diapsida
Order:
Squamata
Suborder:
Serpentes
Family:
Boidae
Subfamily:
Boinae
Genus:
Titanoboa

Head, 2009
Species
  • T. cerrejonensis

Titanoboa, Template:Pron-en teye-TAN-oh-BOH-ə, meaning "titanic boa",[1] was a genus of snake that lived approximately 60 to 58 million years ago, in the Paleocene epoch,[2] a 10-million-year period immediately following the dinosaur extinction event.[3] The only known species is the Titanoboa cerrejonensis, the largest snake ever discovered.[2]

Size

By comparing the sizes and shapes of its fossilized vertebrae to those of extant snakes, researchers estimated that the T. cerrejonensis reached a maximum length of 12 to 15 metres (40 to 50 ft),[4] weighed about 1,135 kilograms (2,502 lb),[1] and measured about 1 metre (40 in) in diameter at the thickest part of the body.[5][6]

Location

In 2009, the fossils of 28 individual T. cerrejonensis were announced to have been found in the coal mines of Cerrejón, La Guajira, Colombia.[2][1] 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

Because snakes are ectothermic, the discovery implies that the tropics, the creature's habitat, must have been warmer than previously thought, averaging approximately 90 °F (30 °C).[9][10][2][1] 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] For example, of ectothermic animals today, larger ones are found in the tropics where it is hottest, and smaller ones are found farther from the equator.[3]

Size comparison

The largest eight of the 28 T. cerrejonensis snakes found were between 12 and 15 metres (39 and 49 ft) in length. In comparison, the largest extant snakes are the Python reticulatus, which measures about 9 metres (30 ft) long, and the anaconda, which measures about 7.5 metres (25 ft) long[4] 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 (4 in).[12]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Titanoboa.
  1. ^ a b c d Head, Jason J. "Giant boid snake from the paleocene neotropics reveals hotter past equatorial temperatures". Nature. 457: 715–718. Retrieved 2009-02-05. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b c d Kwok, Roberta (4 February 2009). "Scientists find world's biggest snake". Nature. Retrieved 2009-02-04. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  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. ^ a b "CTV.ca | Ancient, gargantuan snakes ate crocs for breakfast". Retrieved 2009-02-07.
  5. ^ McIlroy, Anne (2009-02-05). "Titanoboa made anaconda look like a garter snake". Science. Retrieved 2009-02-06.
  6. ^ Dunham, Will (2009-02-04). "Titanic ancient snake was as long as Tyrannosaurus". Reuters UK. Retrieved 2009-02-06.
  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. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  10. ^ "ScienceDirect - Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology : Climate model sensitivity to atmospheric CO2 levels in the Early–Middle Paleogene". Retrieved 2009-02-07.
  11. ^ "Gigantism, temperature and metabolic rate in terrestrial [[poikilotherms]]". Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 272: 2325–2328. 2005-09-14. Retrieved 2009-02-07. {{cite journal}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help); Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  12. ^ 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.

Further Reading

Retrieved from "http://en.wiki.x.io/w/index.php?title=Titanoboa&oldid=272077538"