Fossil vertebrae excavated throughout a mine dig in western India are the stays of one of many largest snakes that ever existed, a creature considered as much as 15 meters in size – longer than a T-rex.
Scientists have recovered 27 vertebrae from the monster snake, together with a pair which might be nonetheless in the identical position as they might have been when the creature was alive. They claimed the snake, which has been named Vasuki Indicus, would have seemed like a big python, with no venom.
The lignite mine the place the snake fossil was unearthed is in Panandhro, within the western state of Gujarat.
Largest recognized madtsoiid snake from heat Eocene interval of India suggests intercontinental Gondwana dispersal
Vasuki indicus gen et sp. nov. estimated physique size of ~ 11–15 m https://t.co/ArKdFSZGb2 pic.twitter.com/GS2gzCSx0z— Dactylioceras (@Dinoh555) April 18, 2024
“Considering its large size, Vasuki was a slow-moving ambush predator that would subdue its prey through 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,” stated Debajit Datta, a postdoctoral researcher in palaeontology on the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee and the lead creator of the examine, revealed within the journal Scientific Reports on Thursday – as reported by the Guardian.
Due to the unfinished nature of the Vasuki fossil, the scientists have given an estimated size vary of 11-15 meters and one ton in weight.
Was the Vasuki Snake Fossil bigger than Others Found Previously?
Vasuki, named after the snake king linked to the Hindu god Shiva, comes shut in measurement to a different monumental prehistoric snake referred to as Titanoboa, the fossils of which had been present in a coal mine in northern Colombia in 2009. Titanoboa, believed to be round 13 meters lengthy and a couple of ton in weight, lived between 58 million and 60 million years in the past. The largest residing snake at this time is Asia’s reticulated python, coming in at 10 meters.
@zekedarwinscience A brand new largest snake ever? Titanaboa vs Vasuki indicus #sciencetok #evolution #snake #herpetology #biology #historic #historical past #large #dinosaur #learnontiktok #paleontology #vasuki #india #science #edutok #stem
♬ unique sound – Zeke Darwin
“The estimated body length of Vasuki is comparable to that of Titanoboa, although the vertebrae of Titanoboa are slightly larger than those of Vasuki. However, at this point, we cannot say if Vasuki was more massive or slender compared to Titanoboa,” Sunil Bajpai, a palaeontologist, professor at Roorkee, and the examine’s co-author informed the Guardian.
These snakes existed through the Cenozoic period, which started after the dinosaur age ended 66 million years in the past.
The largest Vasuki vertebra fossil was round 11cm huge, and the snake appears to have had a broad, cylindrical physique maybe round 44cm huge. The cranium was not discovered.
“Vasuki was a majestic animal,” Datta stated. “It may well have been a gentle giant, resting its head on a high porch formed by coiling its massive body for most parts of the day or moving sluggishly through the swamp like an endless train.”
The analysis group shouldn’t be sure what prey Vasuki would have eaten, however taking into consideration its measurement, it might have included crocodilians. Other fossils discovered within the space included crocodilians and turtles, in addition to fish and two primitive whales, kutchicetus, and Andrewsiphius.
Vasuki was a member of the madtsoiidae snake household that existed roughly 98 million years in the past however went extinct round 12,000 years in the past. These snakes proliferated from India by way of southern Eurasia and into north Africa after the Indian subcontinent collided with Eurasia round 50 million years in the past, Bajpai informed the Guardian.
