Titanoboa (name meaning "Titanic Boa") is a genus of gargantuan prehistoric snake that originated during the Middle Paleocene epoch in what is now South America. The apex predator of its time and region, this is the largest snake that ever existed.
Thought to have been extinct for 56 million years, there are still some that remain alive on Primeval Island.
Facts[]
Era & Region[]
Titanoboa lived in South America during the Middle to Late Paleocene epoch, around 60 – 56 million years ago, a 5-million-year period immediately following the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event. Titanoboa was said to be among the apex predators of its day as well as one of the most famous prehistoric creatures in the world.
Discovery & Region[]
In the year 2009, the fossils of 28 individuals of Titanoboa were found in the Cerrejón Formation of the coal mines of Cerrejón in La Guajira, Colombia. The snake was discovered on an expedition by a team of international scientists led by Jonathan Bloch (a University of Florida vertebrate paleontologist) and Carlos Jaramillo (a paleobotanist from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama).
The name Titanoboa literately means "titanic boa". The species epithet cerrejonensis refers to the Cerrejón coal mine and the Cerrejón Formation, in which the fossils have been found.
Physical Description[]
Titanoboa was vaguely similar to modern-day constrictors, only it was much larger. In fact, it is the largest species of snake that had ever existed; on average, measuring approximately 42 – 47 feet (12.8 – 14.3 m) long and weighing 1.25 – 1.5 tons (2,500 – 3,000 lb), it also possessed a large head equipped with large eyes and jaws. However, the largest Titanoboa ever discovered measured an immense 50 feet (15 m) long and weighed around 2 tons (4,400 lb).
Despite its large size, Titanoboa could swim with great speed in the waters. Additionally, on land, Titanoboa was surprisingly a very fast animal, capable of reaching speeds in excess of 50 mph (80 k/h) if it ever needed to. This makes Titanoboa a very difficult animal to outrun. Titanoboa are also capable of climbing in trees, oftentimes disguising themselves as large branches. Additionally, as it turns out, Titanoboa also had considerably thick skin, described as "damn near bulletproof". As such, whenever the snake was shot at, it barely flinched. Titanoboa also possessed enhanced night vision, allowing it to see in the darkest places.
Titanoboa interestingly had a defense mechanism when attacked. Like all snakes, Titanoboa appeared to be at its most vulnerable when it digested its food. However, if or when it was ever threatened or attacked by another predator, even another Titanoboa, these snakes, much like anacondas, possessed the ability to spit their food out and attack. A testament of their physiology is their size, which is twice regular constrictors, as well as strength, speed, ferocity, endurance, flexibility, and intelligence, all of which allows Titanoboa to devour prey with little effort in a matter of seconds. Their metabolism also somewhat differs from other snakes, as they require mere minutes to a few hours in digesting newly devoured prey. Also, they can fight at full-force even after eating at least a human-sized prey, though their combat ability somewhat hampered and may be forced to regurgitate it if necessary.
Behavior & Traits[]
Much like Megalodon, Titanoboa was a solitary hunter, as it was large enough to hunt prey on its own. It only got together with other members of its kind during mating season. Titanoboa hunted its prey by infrasound; due to this, it was drawn to low-frequency noise and vibrations and was less likely to attack still and silent prey. Upon locking on prey, Titanoboa would often head in for the kill, attacking via striking and constricting around their prey, squeezing them so hard they cannot breathe and then devouring the prey whole.
When confronting small prey, such as the size of a human, Titanoboa was capable of eating that prey whole in a short amount of time without the need to constrict it. However, when hunting large prey of a similar size to the snake itself, it would constrict around that large prey with enough strength that the prey could not breathe. To defend itself when attacked, Titanoboa could also whip an enemy with its tail.
Trivia[]
- The sound effects of Titanoboa are that of typical snake hisses (including cobras) as well as crocodile hisses, a screaming sound and walrus.