Fossil vertebrae excavated in a western area mine In the are the remains of one of the largest snakes that ever lived, a monster estimated to be up to 15 meters long – longer than a T rex.
Scientists recovered 27 vertebrae from the snake, including some that were still in the same position as they would have been when the reptile was alive. They said the snake, which they called Vasuki indicuswould have looked like a large python and would not have been poisonous.
The lignite mine where the fossil was found is located in Panandhro, in the western state of Gujarat.
“Considering its large size, Vasuki was a slow-moving ambush predator that would subdue its prey by constriction like anacondas and pythons. This snake lived in a marshy swamp near the coast at a time when global temperatures were higher than today,” said Debajit Datta, a postdoctoral researcher in paleontology at the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee and the lead author of the study roomwhich was published Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports.
Due to the incomplete nature of the Vasuki remains, the researchers gave an estimated length range of 11-15 meters and 1 ton in weight.
Vasuki, named after the serpent king associated with the Hindu god Shiva, rivals in size another great prehistoric serpent called Titanoboawho says fossils were discovered in a coal mine in northern Colombia in 2009. Titanoboa, estimated at 13 meters long and over 1 ton, lived between 58m and 60m years ago. The largest living snake today is Asia’s reticulated python at 10 meters.
“The estimated body height of Vasuki is comparable to that of Titanoboaalthough the vertebrae of Titanoboa is slightly larger than that of Vasuki. However, at this stage we cannot say whether Vasuki was more massive or slender compared to Titanoboa,” said Sunil Bajpai, a paleontologist, professor at Roorkee and the study’s co-author.
These large snakes lived during the Cenozoic Era, which began after the dinosaur age ended 66 million years ago.
The largest Vasuki vertebra was about 11 cm (4 inches) wide. Vasuki seems to have had a broad, cylindrical body, perhaps about 44 cm wide. The skull was not found.
“Vasuki was a majestic animal,” Datta said. “It may have been a gentle giant resting its head on a high stoop formed by rolling its massive body up for most of the day or moving sluggishly through the swamp like an endless train.”
The researchers are unsure what prey Vasuki ate, but given its size it could have included crocodiles. Other fossils found in the area include crocodiles and turtles, as well as fish and two primitive whales, Kutchicetus and Andrewsiphius.
Vasuki was a member of the madtsoiidae snake family that appeared about 90m years ago but became extinct about 12,000 years ago. These snakes spread from India through southern Eurasia and into North Africa after the Indian subcontinent collided with Eurasia about 50 million years ago, Bajpai said.
It was a dominant snake family during the late stages of the dinosaur era and into the early Cenozoic before its diversity declined, he added.
“Snakes are amazing creatures that often amaze us because of their size, agility and lethality,” said Datta. “People are afraid of them as some snakes are poisonous and have a deadly bite. But snakes may attack people out of fear rather than with a purpose to attack. I believe snakes, like most animals, are peaceful creatures and an important component of our ecosystem.”
