A Monster Snake that ruled Pre-Columbia

Titanoboa fossils show it was the largest snake in the world. 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. This monster was approximately 49 feet long and weighed in around 2500 pounds.

It wasn't until 2007, however, that the vertebra of a Titanoboa was identified, when a shipment of fossils labeled ‘crocodile’ was being inspected. When this discovery was made, fresh expeditions were conducted in the hopes of finding more vertebrae of this animal. Eventually, a total of 100 snake vertebrae from 28 animals were collected. With the vertebrae, the paleontologists were able to make estimations as to the size of the prehistoric snake.

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