Another day in science and the discovery of another massive ancient snake. Paleontologists in India have unearthed the fossilized vertebrae of a snake that crawled around the subcontinent some 47 million years ago and may have grown to nearly 50 feet long.Newly discovered extinct species named Vasuki Inidixnamed after the mythical serpent that coiled around the neck of the Hindu god Shiva, was first described. the study Published in a magazine on April 18th scientific report.
“Vasuki An important piece of an ancient puzzle. It not only contributes to our understanding of this extinct group, but also to our understanding of large snakes at the top of the food chain in general. ” john jacisin iiiHe is a paleontologist at the University of Texas at Austin who studies reptiles, but was not involved in the study. Beyond reptiles, this fossil discovery provides a wide range of clues about India’s climate tens of millions of years ago. “It was also just a cool snake because it was a very large snake,” he said, comparing its length to being longer than a yellow school bus.
Sunil BajpayeeCo-author of the study and a vertebrate paleontologist at the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, first discovered fossilized snake carcasses in a coal mine in western India in 2005. During a slow and careful excavation, his 27 vertebrates, all likely from the same individual, were discovered. By analyzing the size ratios of different parts of the vertebrae and the fossil’s unique shape and protrusions, Bajpai and his collaborators determined that the fossil belonged to the Mazzoidae family, a primitive snake similar to boas and pythons. It was proven to be a new, extinct species. .
The fossil, which is about the size of a fist, is the next largest in girth and width. Them Tintanoa, another giant snake, is estimated to have lived in what is now Colombia about 58 million years ago.Based on the age of the rock in which the newly described vertebrae were found, the researchers Vasuki Until about 47 million years ago, just a few million years after the Indian plate began colliding with Eurasia. The new study supports the idea that madzoids originated in India and later migrated to northern Africa and southern Eurasia, where other fossil specimens have been discovered since then.
It is difficult to accurately estimate the body size of an entire species from the incomplete skeleton of a single individual. But Bajpayee and his colleagues used model equations that incorporated data on currently living snakes and the known fossil record to Debasit Dutta– Another vertebrate paleontologist at the same facility estimates that: V. indicus It was approximately 36 to 49.9 feet (10.9 to 15.2 meters) long.The only known snake of similar size is Titanoboacurrently the record holder for the largest snake in history. Titanoboa It is estimated to be 35 to 50 feet long, with an average estimated length of about 42 feet. The relative sizes of vertebrates indicate: Titanoboa It was a snake with a heavier and thicker body. V. indicus, However, it is impossible to know exactly which snake species won the measurement contest.
“Based on the data we have, Vasuki It was only slightly shorter in length than Titanoboa” Vajpayee and Dutta wrote in a joint email. pop science. “However, we cannot completely rule out the possibility that: Vasuki be slightly larger than TitanoboaThis is because the fossil vertebrae in our collection may not be from the largest individuals. Vasuki. However, the same thing is Titanoboa. We don’t know the complete skeletons of either of these snakes, so we can’t say with certainty whether one was longer or wider than the other. ”
“that’s a joke [in paleontology], everyone always finds the biggest one. ”
The exact size estimate may change as more fossils are discovered and more analysis is done. “When the tape measure comes out, everything shrinks down,” he says. alexandra howardis a paleontologist and herpetologist at Texas A&M University, but was not involved in the new study. “that’s a joke [in paleontology]Everybody always finds the biggest thing,” she added. As more discoveries and scrutiny occur, estimates of maximum size tend to shrink. Nevertheless, Howard said the new discovery contains very well-preserved fossils and is an interesting addition to our knowledge of ancient reptiles. “There were a lot of giant snakes in the past, which is really amazing,” she says.
And in any case, being second in size isn’t so bad, especially when you’re about 10 million years apart from your closest competitor. Vasuki Bajpayee and Dutta said it was probably a slow-sliding, ambush predator that constricted its prey, much like a python. Based on its morphology and where it was found, researchers believe the giant snake was terrestrial or semi-aquatic, living in wetlands and coastal wetlands. Bajpayee and Dutta said the rock also contained fossils of rays, sharks, bony fish, turtles, crocodiles and primitive whales, but it was unclear what they ate.
Beyond its gigantic size, this new paleontological discovery is remarkable for what it can tell us about Earth 47 to 50 million years ago. “This is an important discovery because it shows another example of extreme gigantism in snakes, and because we can use snakes as thermometers to recreate past climates,” he said. Masu. jason heada vertebrate paleontologist at the University of Cambridge in England, was one of the key researchers involved in the discovery. Titanoboa.
Geological and paleontological studies have shown that this period, part of the Eocene, was warm; Vasuki It provides another data point that shows exactly what the climate was like where it was discovered. Snakes are cold-blooded animals (commonly known as “cold-blooded” animals), so their body temperature and size are closely related to the temperature of their surroundings. Head explains that the larger the snake, the slower its metabolic rate, so the snake needs a warmer climate to survive. Estimates from the modeling equations show that: Vasuki‘s The average temperature in its habitat is approximately 28 degrees Celsius (82.4 degrees Fahrenheit), which is slightly warmer than the current annual average temperature in the same region.
Ancient climate data can help us understand where we are headed under current and current climate change, Head says. “These are the hottest latitudes and hottest intervals, and that will tell us a lot about what those places will be like in the future.”
As paleontologists continue to study the past, future predictions may become clearer. Also, giant ancient snakes may continue to appear. “We understand very little about the past diversity of life on Earth,” Head said. “I think we’ll probably see more giant snakes in the future.”
