This article discusses a recent opening at the Smithsonian. This display features what scientists imagine a giant snake called a "titanoboa" may have looked like. Believed to be an ancient relative of the anaconda and boa constrictor, the titanoboa was believed to be 50 feet long, based on skull fragments found last year and vertebrae fragments found in an open coal pit in 2002.
Scientists were surprised to find fossils of the skull because snake skulls are typically very fragile, and after the flesh decomposes, the snake skull usually breaks into many different pieces. Scientists said that this was one of few snakes to make it into the fossil record because of how fragile the skeletons are. They estimate the reptile lived around 60 millions years ago, and it was much hotter than it currently is now. This has been interpreted to mean that with current global warming trends, eco-systems will still be able to cope with the heat and higher CO2 levels. When asked if titanoboa could make a return, Dr Jaramillo said "As the temperature increases you have the probability they will come back,but it takes geological time to develop a new species. It could take a million years - but perhaps they will!"
1 comment:
What an shockingly, unbelievably large snake. I actually checked the date line to make sure this wasn't an April Fool's joke. (It's not.)
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