WASHINGTON, April 18 — Fossil vertebrae unearthed in a lignite mine are the stays of one of the biggest snakes that ever lived, a monster estimated at as much as 49 toes (15 metres) in size — longer than a T. rex — that prowled the swamps of India round 47 million years in the past.
Scientists mentioned at this time they’ve recovered 27 vertebrae from the snake, together with a couple of nonetheless in the identical place as they might have been when the limbless reptile was alive. They mentioned the snake, which they named Vasuki indicus, would have regarded like a modern-day giant python and wouldn’t have been venomous.
The mine is situated in the Panandhro space of the Kutch district in western India’s state of Gujarat. Lignite is the bottom grade of coal.
“Considering its giant dimension, Vasuki was a slow-moving ambush predator that might subdue its prey via constriction like anacondas and pythons. This snake lived in a marshy swamp close to the coast at a time when international temperatures had been larger than at this time,” mentioned Debajit Datta, a postdoctoral researcher in paleontology on the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IITR) and lead creator of the research printed in the journal Scientific Reports.
Because of the unfinished nature of the Vasuki stays, the researchers gave an estimated size vary of 36-49 toes (11-15 metres) and a tough estimate of a metric tonne in weight.
Vasuki, named after the snake king related to the Hindu deity Shiva, rivals in dimension one other big prehistoric snake referred to as Titanoboa, whose fossils had been found in a coal mine in northern Colombia, as introduced in 2009. Titanoboa, estimated at 42 toes (13 metres) lengthy and 1.1 metric tonnes, lived 58-60 million years in the past. The reticulated python is the longest extant snake, generally measuring 20-30 toes (6-9 metres).
A composite skeleton exhibiting fossil vertebrae representing the trunk area of the prehistoric snake Vasuki indicus, as seen in this illustration obtained by eNM on April 17, 2024. — S. Bajpai, D. Datta, P. Verma handout pic through eNM
“The estimated physique size of Vasuki is akin to that of Titanoboa, though the vertebrae of Titanoboa are barely bigger than these of Vasuki. However, at this level, we can’t say if Vasuki was extra large or slender in comparison with Titanoboa,” mentioned paleontologist and research co-author Sunil Bajpai, a professor at IITR.
These big snakes lived in the course of the Cenozoic period, which started after the dinosaur age ended 66 million years in the past.
Perhaps the largest-known Tyrannosaurus rex is a specimen named Sue on the Field Museum in Chicago, at 40-1/2 toes (12.3 metres) lengthy, although a T. rex would have been extra large than these snakes.
The greatest Vasuki vertebra was round 4-1/2 inches (11.1cm) vast. Vasuki seems to have had a broad, cylindrical physique maybe round 17 inches (44cm) vast. The cranium was not discovered.
“Vasuki was an imposing animal,” Datta mentioned. “It might nicely have been a mild big, resting its head on a excessive porch fashioned by coiling its large physique for many components of the day or shifting sluggishly via the swamp like an infinite prepare. In some methods it jogs my memory of (fictional big snake) Kaa from ‘The Jungle Book.’”
The researchers are usually not positive what prey Vasuki ate, however contemplating its dimension it may have included crocodilians. Other fossils in the world 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 appeared roughly 90 million years in the past however went extinct about 12,000 years in the past. These snakes unfold from India via southern Eurasia and into north Africa after the Indian subcontinent collided with Eurasia round 50 million years in the past, Bajpai mentioned.
This was a dominant snake household in the course of the dinosaur age’s latter phases and into the early Cenozoic earlier than its range dropped, Bajpai added.
“Snakes are wonderful creatures that always go away us shocked as a result of of their dimension, agility and deadliness,” Datta mentioned. “People are scared of them as some snakes are venomous and have a deadly chew. But snakes maybe assault folks out of worry reasonably than with an intent to assault. I imagine snakes, like most animals, are peaceable creatures, and an necessary part of our ecosystem.” — eNM
