It was Wing who realized that Garcia’s fossil was not from a plant.

One of the researchers invited to join the expedition was Scott Wing, the curator of fossil plants at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.Ī Titanoboa vertebra dwarfs that of a modern 17-foot anaconda ( Brian Tietz ) As the area had not been explored previously by paleontologists, an expedition was soon organized. In 2003, a Colombian undergraduate geology student by the name of Fabiany Herrera was at Cerrejón for a field trip when he discovered fossilized plant remains. The campaign that led to the discovery began in 1994, when the Colombian geologist Henry Garcia found an unfamiliar fossil which he labelled as ‘Petrified Branch’ and placed it in a display case of the coal company. The discovery of Titanoboa was made during the first decade of the 21st century in Cerrejón, a coal mine in the northern part of Colombia. (tuomaskoivurinne/ Deviant Art) Discovering Titanoboa Titanoboa was obviously a giant compared to the largest snakes we have today.Īrtistic representation of Titanoboa.

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In addition, the thickest part of the snake’s body is reckoned to have had a diameter of 3 feet (0.9 meters). According to estimates made by paleontologists, it could have grown to a length of between 42 feet and 49 feet (between 12.8 meters and 14.9 meters) and weighed up to a massive 2500 pounds (1134 kg). Titanoboa simply means ‘titanic boa’ and is an apt name for this prehistoric snake. The 'Titanoboa: Monster Snake' exhibit from the Smithsonian at the Natural History Museum. This estimation was then used to create a life-size model of Titanoboa, which was exhibited in 2012 in New York City’s Grand Central Terminal as a promotion for the Smithsonian Channel documentary entitled Titanoboa: Monster Snake. It is through these few fossils that paleontologists were able to estimate the size of this prehistoric creature.

So far, the South American country of Colombia has the only known fossils of the huge serpent. It lived during the Paleocene epoch, about 60 million years ago, so you are safe from its bone crushing grip now, but the image of the huge prehistoric snake slithering around South America is still a terrifying one. Titanoboa fossils show it was the largest snake in the world. You may not want to read about this frightening creature if you suffer to any degree from ophidiophobia, or even if you are about to embark on a camping trip.

Titanoboa vs anaconda pictures