Titanoboa was a giant snake that has since become extinct. Measuring at about 48 feet, Titanoboa was twice as long as the longest living snake today and nearly four times heavier than the giant anaconda. The Titanoboa, whose fossils date back to about 58 to 61 million years ago, existed during the Paleocene in history. He lived in the jungles of South America. The fossils were discovered in the coal mines of La Guajira, Colombia, in 2009. The name Titanoboa was coined by “Titanic Boa”. This giant snake is the largest snake ever recorded, supplanting the previous record holder, the Gigantophis.
Physical description
Titanoboa was a large snake that measured around 50 feet. Its weight was between 2300 and 2500. It had a diameter of about 3 feet at its maximum. This size is almost twice as large as the largest snake of the modern day. They had rows of teeth that grew on the upper and lower jaws. The teeth were very small and very sharp, an adaptation for his hunting. The snake was opaque in color. The color ranged from dull brown to gray and black. The area in which he lived contributed to the great dimension.
Habitat and Range
With the disappearance of the dinosaurs, the Titanoboa was among the largest reptile pioneers to conquer the ecological niche. The emergence of the Titanoboa was accompanied by the emergence of other relatively large small reptiles.
The Titanoboa lived in a hot and humid climate. Studies have found that Titanoboa has shared its habitats with giant turtle carbonemys. They lived in the swampy areas of South America. Titanboa fossils have been discovered in South America in Peru and Colombia. During the Paleocene period, these regions had the climate like tropical regions. In a warmer climate, cold-blooded reptiles grow larger than cold climates.
Diet
The Titanoboa was not poisonous. Thus, he killed his prey physically or by forcing or blocking the trachea and not using poison. His diet consists of other small reptiles, birds and small crocodiles. Its large size made it easier to hunt and squeeze the prey. The characteristic opaque color of the Titanoboa made it difficult to observe the prey as it approached.
Behavior
The Titanoboa spent most of its time on the water. Because of its large size, the Titanoboa spent most of its terrestrial times crawling around the trees. The large size would have made it difficult for the Titanoboa to climb trees. The snake could have been more dangerous while it was in the water because its weight was aided by the buoyancy of the water.
Playback
The Titanoboa, like many other modern reptiles, has had seasons of mating. Before the mating season, the male and female titanoboas kept away from each other. When the mating season was about to begin, the female Titanoboa released a certain hormone to inform the males. The males would then fight each other for the female. The winning male fertilized the eggs. Immediately after fertilization, the females would attack the males and sometimes devour them. They would then take a rest period, which was also the gestation period. The gestation period lasted about seven months before the little Titanoboa slipped out of a thin membrane on either side of the mother’s body.
What caused its extinction?
Although no one knows the exact reason why Titanoboa has died out, two theories have been advanced. Climate change has contributed to the disappearance and extinction of most Titanoboa. Declining global temperatures favored the emergence of smaller snakes. Larger reptiles were slowly erased and even smaller snakes and other reptiles passed their places in the ecosystem. The rapid drop in temperatures has made the metabolic processes of the Titanoboa difficult. The change in habitat has also contributed to the extinction of the Titanoboa. Rainforests have shrunk and paved the way for grasslands. The Titanoboa therefore lacked a suitable habitat. They disappeared and paved the way for smaller snakes.
