Researchers discovered fossils of huge and ‘majestic’ snake close to a coal mine in Gujarat. The snake Vasuki, estimated to have lived 47 million years in the past, might have been as much as 15 meters lengthy.
Fossil Of ‘Largest Snake To Have Ever Existed’ Found In Gujarat, It’s Size Will Leave You Shocked
Fossils discovered close to a coal mine in Gujarat revealed a snake that will have been an estimated 26 ft (11 meters) to 50 ft (15 meters) in size. The mine is positioned within the Panandhro space of Kutch is the western state of Gujarat. The snake is estimated to have lived 47 million years in the past within the swamps of western India.
Owing to the unfinished nature of the stays, the researchers gave an estimated size vary of 36-49 ft (11-15 meters), and 1000 kilograms because the tough estimate of its weight.
Vasuki has been named after the snake king related to Lord Shiva, reported Reuters. Another snake fossil, Titanoboa, which was estimated to have lived 58-60 million years in the past, was estimated to been 42 ft (13 meters lengthy).
“The estimated physique size of Vasuki is corresponding to that of Titanoboa, though the vertebrae of Titanoboa are barely bigger than these of Vasuki. However, at this level, we can not say if Vasuki was extra huge or slender in comparison with Titanoboa,” stated Sunil Bajpai, paleontologist and research co-author, who’s a additionally a professor at IITR.
These big snakes are believed to have lived through the Cenozoic period which started after the dinosaur age ended 66 million years in the past.
Researchers discovered a variety of giant vertebra, with the biggest they discovered being round 4-1/2 Inches (11.1 cm) huge. Vasuki’s cranium, nevertheless, was not discovered.
Vasuki was a member of the Madtsoiidae snake household that appeared roughly 90 million years in the past however went extinct about 12,000 years in the past, in keeping with Bajpai. These snakes unfold from India although southern Eurasia and into north Africa after the collision between the Indian subcontinent and Eurasia round 50 million years in the past, he added.
“It might nicely have been a mild big, resting its head on a excessive porch shaped by coiling its huge physique for many elements of the day or shifting sluggishly via the swamp like an countless prepare. In some methods it jogs my memory of (fictional big snake) Kaa from ‘The Jungle Book’,” stated Datta, referring to the snake as “an impressive animal”.
“People are fearful of them as some snakes are venomous and have a deadly chew. But snakes maybe attack individuals out of concern quite than with an intent to attack. I imagine snakes, like most animals, are peaceable creatures, and an vital part of our ecosystem,” he added.
(With inputs from companies)
