The remains of the snake were discovered in a mine in Gujurat, India. Image: Pixabay
Historic remains of a ‘one-ton snake’ have been discovered
Fossil vertebrae have been unearthed that are believed to be the remains of ‘one of the largest snakes that ever lived.’
The remains of the snake were discovered in a mine in Gujurat, India. Image: Pixabay
The monster snake is estimated to have been up to 15 metres in length, and weighed a metric ton.
The snake prowled the swamps of India around 47 million years ago, “at a time when global temperatures were higher than today,” Debajit Datta, a paleontologist at the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IITR), told Reuters.
The snake has been named Vasuki indicus – after the snake king associated with the Hindu deity Shiva.
A snake longer than a T-Rex
After its remains were unearthed from a lignite mine in India, evidence suggests the reptile was longer than a T-Rex.
Scientists announced the recovery of 27 vertebrae from the snake – many still in their original positions. They said the reptile resembled a modern-day large python and was likely non-venomous.
“Considering its large size, Vasuki was a slow-moving ambush predator that would subdue its prey through constriction like anacondas and pythons,” Datta added.
Vasuki is said to have rivalled in size another massive prehistoric snake called Titanoboa – whose fossils were found in a coal mine in northern Colombia in 2009.
“The estimated body length of Vasuki is comparable to that of Titanoboa, although the vertebrae of Titanoboa are slightly larger than those of Vasuki,” explained paleontologist Sunil Bajpai, a professor at IITR.
“However, at this point, we cannot say if Vasuki was more massive or slender compared to Titanoboa.”
What did it eat?
These giant snakes thrived in the Cenozoic era, following the extinction of dinosaurs 66 million years ago.
The biggest Vasuki vertebra recovered was approximately 11.1 centimetres wide, suggesting a broad, cylindrical body around 44 cm wide. The skull of Vasuki however was not found during the excavation.
The researchers are not sure what Vasuki preyed on, but are almost certain in included crocodilians. Other fossils in the area where Vasuki was discovered included crocodilians, turtles, fish, and two primitive whales.
These snakes spread from India through southern Eurasia and into North Africa. This followed the collision of the Indian subcontinent with Eurasia around 50 million years ago, Bajpai added.
