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Titanoboa cerrejonensis
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Titanoboa, is an extinct genus of snakes that is known to have lived in present-day La Guajira in northern Colombia. Fossils of Titanoboa have been found in the Cerrejón Formation, and date to around 58 to 60 million years ago. The giant snake lived during the Middle to Late Paleocene epoch, a 10-million-year period immediately following the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event. The only known species is Titanoboa cerrejonensis, the largest snake ever discovered, which supplanted the previous record holder, Gigantophis. By comparing the sizes and shapes of its fossilized vertebrae to those of extant snakes, researchers estimated that the largest individuals of T. cerrejonensis found had a total length around 12.8 m (42 ft) and weighed about 1,135 kg (2,500 lb).
In 2009, the fossils of 28 individuals of T. cerrejonensis were found in the Cerrejón Formation of the coal mines of Cerrejón in La Guajira, Colombia. Credits to @andhillsfarm @c_d_rosamond @dynamic_focus @mesozoicpride and @sitesexhibitions  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
I thought this was a new subspecies of Titanoboa. There was an alligator/croc there that the adults would most likely too big to handle. How many Crocs species were present there?
@epaiva :
Just after the dinosaurs disparition, the empty ecological biotops started immediately to fill up again, and as concerns the first time dominant animal species were not yet the mammals, but the some crocodiles, and these monstruous snakes (which were certainly not alone on the Earth) without forgeting some big birds like the Gartonis. Something of the dinosaurs' spirit seemed to be still in the air. (09-18-2017, 10:28 AM)genao87 Wrote: I thought this was a new subspecies of Titanoboa. There was an alligator/croc there that the adults would most likely too big to handle. How many Crocs species were present there? @genao87 It seens that the most common prey of Titanoboa cerrejonensis were the newly discovered species named Cerrejonisuchus improcerus, they grew only 6 to 7 feet long (180 to 213 centimeters) making it easy prey of Titanoboa. Clearly this new fossil would have been part of the food-chain, both as predator and prey," said Jonathan Bloch, a Florida Museum vertebrate paleontologist and associate curator. "Giant snakes today are known to eat crocodylians, and it is not much of a reach to say that it would have been a frequent meal for Titanoboa. Fossils of the two are often found side-by-side," added Bloch, who was part of the fossil-hunting expeditions.
Credit to @dinosaurologia
 *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author @genao87 They had a huge powerful big enemy Purussaurus a crocodile that measured from 10 to 12 meters long, it was too much for Titanoboa.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
EPAIVA
Although it may seem different at times, your contributions on many extinct animals and the South-American fauna are much appreciated. Many thanks on behalf of all.
" Sculpture of a Titanoboa skeleton, by the Chinese–French artist Huang Yong Ping, displayed at Queensland Art Gallery in Brisbane ".
" Titanoboa is a genus of very large snakes that lived in what is now La Guajira in northeastern Colombia. They could grow up to 12.8 m long and reach a weight of 1,135 kg. Fossils of Titanoboa have been found in the Cerrejón Formation, and date to around 58 to 60 million years ago.
Class: Reptilia Scientific name: Titanoboa Kingdom: Animalia Family: Boidae Did you know: Titanoboa was the largest snake that ever lived, measuring in at 13-15 meters in length and weighing about 2,500 lbs. "
07-02-2023, 07:51 PM
( This post was last modified: 07-03-2023, 03:19 AM by hibernours
Edit Reason: orthography
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(12-07-2019, 07:27 PM)Hello Wrote:(11-24-2018, 02:55 AM)epaiva Wrote: Huge powerful snake preyed on Crocodiles Turtles and FishesEven any prehistoric felid or ursid given a chance. Well, just a few things here: 1. The images depicted here are just pictures and some of them are probably exagerrating the size of this snake, showing us a snake much larger than the official estimate which is between 730 and 1135kg, the size of a very large bear, this is the first point. 2. I don't contest the mass attributed to this snake, i agree with a body mass around 1 ton, but think carefully: a snake of this size would have trouble moving quickly on land so maybe we can consider that this snake was more aquatic, what do you think about this hypothesis? 3. To respond to the hypothetical fight between this snake and some prehistoric mammal carnivores (big cats and bears): this snake probably couldn't have caught a big cat or a bear because these animals move faster on land than this snake. Then, the skull of this snake is only 40 cm in length, so this skull is smaller than the skull of giant bears and even smaller than those of giant cats. If a big cat or a bear catch the head of the snake, it is over. If this snake was aquatic, it probably would have been able to kill a big cat or a bear in water (pure fiction of course), but on land it has no chance. 4. Some documentaries present this snake as being able to kill a Tyrannosaurus (which never met Titanoboa to my knowledge). What a joke! A tyrannosaur was at least 5 or 6 times heavier... Of course this snake was probably able to exert a tremendous force to crush prey but in order to do that it needs to wrap the body of the other animal and... good luck to wrap an adult tyrannosaur... The tyrannosaur would probably cut the snake in half. Now i have a question about this snake: what was the largest prey that it could swallow in order to feed itself? And don't tell me that it could swallow a one ton crocodile, I will find it hard to believe you. |
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