 
The Titanoboa may have been the largest snake that ever lived. At up to 16 metres long and a metre wide, weighing over a ton, this snake was the top predator in the world's first tropical rainforest. It was the largest predator on the planet between the extinction of dinosaurs 65 million years ago and the first appearance of Megalodon about 23 million years ago.
Comparing this to modern snakes alive today, the largest snake by body weight is the Green Anaconda, which can attain a weight of 80 kilograms. The largest snake by body length, however, is the Reticulated Python, which can be 7 metres long. Fossils of Titanoboa, including the remains of 28 individuals, were found in a coal mine in northern Colombia in South America. The age of the rocks that they were found in is about 58 million years, and what was exciting about the coal mine was that it preserved the ancient remnants of a rainforest. This was the oldest evidence for a rainforest from South America, for the first time allowing a look at tropical South America a few million years after the extinction of the dinosaurs. One of the first creatures identified was this gigantic snake.  58 million years ago it was much hotter. This is important for cold-blooded vertebrates like Titanoboa because they derive their body temperature from their surroundings, as opposed to from the food that they eat, like warm-blooded animals do. This means cold-blooded reptiles can no longer evolve beyond a certain mass without their metabolism slowing down disastrously. The largest cold blooded creatures today live in the hottest places on Earth near the equator. This is likely to change as global climate change accelerates. Snakes are usually generalists that will eat whatever they can catch. This is especially true for constrictors that do not rely on venom to subdue prey. Titanoboas likely preyed on other snakes, ancestral crocodiles, turtles, birds, and mammals. The coastal areas in which it lived were rich in tropical rainforests and large river systems. It’s likely that Titanoboas spent the majority of their time in the water, much like anacondas. They would have lived amongst several other ancestral freshwater reptiles.  Though only partial skull and jaw bones have been found, Titanoboa would likely have had rows of recurved teeth within its mouth. With a hold secure on its prey, the snake could then coil its immense body around the body of the prey and just squeeze. With a body made mostly of muscle, even a medium sized Titanoboa would have been capable of inflicting killing pressures on large prey. Titanoboa would have been at their most dangerous when in the water. Body weight means very little, since the buoyancy of the water counteracts the effects of gravity. This is exactly why marine animals like whales can grow so big. Titanoboa would have been very quick when moving through the water, as well as expending very little energy to do so. Another advantage of hunting in the water is that its massive body would have been hidden. Titanoboa would also have been capable of lurking on the bottom and holding its breath for a considerable time. |