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Slither Aside, Titanoboa, This Ancient Snake Was Also a 50-Footer

A new study suggests that Titanoboa wasn’t the only snake that loomed large in antiquity.

By Sam Walters
Apr 18, 2024 6:30 PM
Illustration of Vasuki indicus near water
Similar to Titanoboa, pictured in the artist illustration above, this new species of snake was probably an ambush predator. (Credit: Jason Bourque/Florida Museum of Natural History)

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Titanoboa has long been heralded as the largest of large snakes. Slithering through the Paleocene at an estimated 45 to 50 feet, this ancient snake appears in almost every list of large snakes, and almost always at the top.

But now another ancient snake is sliding up those lists.

Named Vasuki indicus, and identified in a new paper published in Scientific Reports, this new snake slunk through the Eocene at an estimated 36 to 50 feet. If accurate, these estimates establish this new snake as an equal to Titanoboa, and as one of the largest —and longest — snakes that ever lived.

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