Titanoboa is an extinct giant snake that lived around 60 million years ago. It’s the biggest snake ever found. We’ll tell you everything you need to know, with a quick profile and seven facts about this gigantic constrictor snake.
Titanoboa is a pretty recent discovery that caused a big stir. The prehistoric giant snake lived in tropical Colombia and grew as long as a city bus.
Cool Facts About Titanoboa
Cool facts about Titanoboa
In this section, you’ll find some cool facts about the discovery and location of Titanoboa and what its name means. We’ll also compare Titanoboa to other giant snakes like the Boa constrictor or the reticulated python.
Discovery and Location
The new species, Titanoboa cerrejonensis, was found in 2009 in the Cerrejón coal mine in La Guajira, a region in Colombia (South America).
They found the remains of 28 individual snakes there. The finds included a nearly complete vertebra, plus 184 other vertebrae and rib bones.
This was a brand-new fossil discovery, which is pretty cool since dinosaur bones have been dug up and identified since the 19th century.
Meaning of the Name
The genus name "Titanoboa" can be translated as "titanic boa." Its species name, "cerrejonensis," is Latin and refers to where it was found in the Cerrejón coal mine.
Titanoboa is often called a giant snake. This term is still mostly used today for boas and pythons and refers to their size.
In zoology, however, the term has been dropped because the animals aren’t as closely related as people once thought.
Comparison to Other Giant Snakes
Reticulated python
Titanoboa reached a size that modern giant snakes can’t even touch. At 14 meters long and weighing over a ton, it’s the largest snake in the world.
For comparison: The Boa constrictor usually grows to between 2.4 and 3.0 meters long, but can sometimes reach lengths of up to 4.5 meters. It’s the most well-known South American giant snake today and lives in places like Colombia.
The skin of a Green Anaconda was once measured at over 9 meters long. According to one study, the female specimens reached a length of up to 5.17 meters and a weight of up to 82.5 kilograms. Males are significantly smaller and lighter.
In 2016, an 8-meter-long giant snake weighing 250 kilograms was found in Malaysia. However, the animal died unexpectedly after laying its eggs and therefore didn’t make it into the Guinness Book of World Records.
Something similar happened with a 10-meter-long anaconda that construction workers found in Brazil. It supposedly weighed 400 kilograms and would have been the largest anaconda in the world, but it also died.
The largest living snake, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, is the reticulated python "Medusa." According to a 2011 measurement, she is 7.67 meters long and weighs 160 kilograms. She was named after the Gorgon "Medusa" from Greek antiquity.
Characteristics of Titanoboa
Characteristics of the giant snake
Below, you’ll find the most important characteristics of Titanoboa. You’ll learn when and how the giant snake lived and how big it got.
We also describe its body structure and movement, habitat and diet, as well as the classification of the only species found so far. Afterward, we have a profile for you that summarizes all the important information again.
Classification of Titanoboa cerrejonensis
The only species of the genus Titanoboa is Titanoboa cerrejonensis. It belongs to the subfamily of boa snakes (Boinae).
Boa snakes, in turn, can be assigned to the family of boas (Boidae) and the superfamily of boa-like snakes (Booidea). Boa-like snakes belong to the group of snakes and further to the Toxicofera. This group includes some venomous and some non-venomous scaly reptiles. Boas are always non-venomous, and so was Titanoboa.
When the Giant Snake Lived
Titanoboa lived 60 to 58 million years ago. In terms of geological history, this falls into the early Paleogene, the period that immediately followed the Cretaceous period.
The Paleogene is divided into the Paleocene, Eocene, and Oligocene. Titanoboa lived in the Paleocene, just six million years after the dinosaurs went extinct. The specific time periods are called the "Selandian" and "Danian."
How Big Titanoboa Was
How big Titanoboa was
Titanoboa’s extreme size was determined from its huge vertebrae. Researchers assume that it was about 13 meters long and weighed 1,135 kilograms. That made it about as long as a city bus, as heavy as a small car, and as wide as a standard door.
So far, Titanoboa is the largest snake in the world. No larger snake skeletons have ever been found. Today’s specimens don’t even come close to its dimensions. The current world record holder, the reticulated python Medusa, is 7.67 meters and 158.8 kilograms.
The maximum body size of cold-blooded animals is related to the temperature of their habitat. The giant growth of this cold-blooded snake therefore suggests that it lived in a very warm environment with an average annual temperature of 30 to 35°C.
Habitat
Titanoboa lived in the rainforests of South America
Titanoboa lived in the Colombian rainforest. Its fossils were found in the Cerrejón coal mine in what is now La Guajira. It was a subtropical climate and the average temperatures were between 32 and 33 degrees Celsius.
That’s about six to seven degrees Celsius warmer than the temperatures in that region today. The giant snake’s habitat probably included areas with plenty of water like swamps, rivers, or lakes.
It shared its habitat with giant turtles and Crocodylomorpha, which included the ancestors of today’s crocodiles. There were also many floating ferns (Salvinia) drifting on the water’s surface.
Body and Movement
The Titanoboa was built like other boas. It had powerful muscles for a strong constricting grip and a flexible jaw to swallow prey wider than its own head. Modern boas have many sharp, backward-curving teeth. Titanoboa might have had teeth like that, too.
There are five ways snakes move. Species living in the jungle usually move by slithering, and Titanoboa probably did too. Slithering is the most common form of movement among snakes.
They use their strong muscles to push off of uneven ground and various objects. Because they do this from both sides, they move forward and can reach about a walking speed.
Since snakes are so flexible and their bodies look like a worm’s, some people think they don’t have bones. But they do have a spine and ribs, as well as a skull with a jaw.
Lifestyle and Diet
Lifestyle and diet of the Titanoboa
Titanoboa probably led a life similar to today’s anaconda (Eunectes murinus). The largest specimens of this genus also live in the tropics of South America. Anacondas stay near bodies of water and have few natural enemies when fully grown.
As a constrictor snake, Titanoboa probably killed its prey by wrapping around it with a tight grip. Then it would swallow it whole, slowly. Researchers believe that Titanoboa ate two-meter-long crocodiles of the species Cerrejonisuchus improcerus and two-meter-tall giant turtles of the species Carbonemys cofrinii.
The evidence for this is that the animals shared a habitat and boas still eat crocodiles today. Also, their fossils were often found right next to each other.
Smaller prey could have also been on its menu, but due to its enormous size, it probably wasn’t very agile. In its adult form, it likely had few natural enemies.
Most boas are also good swimmers and climbers. So it’s likely that Titanoboa could have had these skills too.
Life Expectancy
How old Titanoboa could actually get isn’t known yet. Today’s snakes, like the Boa constrictor and the Ball python (Python regius), can live for over 40 years in captivity.
Some grass snakes live over 30 years, and vipers over 20 years. So it’s likely that Titanoboa lived to be at least 20, but probably older.
However, this estimate also has to take into account harsh environmental conditions that might have shortened the snake’s life.
Profile: The Titanoboa
Profile: The Titanoboa
Below, we’ve got all the important data for you again at a glance. You’ll find the classification of the genus and key physical features.
You’ll also learn how long and heavy the giant snake was and when it lived. After that, we’ll tell you about Titanoboa’s image in pop culture and its extinction.
- Genus Name: Titanoboa ("Titanic Boa")
- Known Species: T. cerrejonensis
- Subfamily: Boa snakes (Boinae)
- Family: Boas (Boidae)
- Superfamily: Boa-like snakes (Booidea)
- Group: Snakes (Serpentes)
- Order: Toxicofera
- Period: Paleocene (60–58 million years ago)
- Habitat: Colombia (South America)
- Diet: Carnivore
- Physical Characteristics: Enormous length, thick body, wide head, stretchable jaw
- Length: 14 meters
- Weight: 1,135 kilograms
Titanoboa in Pop Culture
Just like with the prehistoric giant shark Megalodon, there’s a lot of interest in the giant snake Titanoboa. That’s why it’s represented in pop culture and the media, for example, in the video game "ARK: Survival Evolved" (2017), where you can tame it.
There, it’s presented as an aggressive creature that lives in caves and can paralyze its opponents with a bite. However, this portrayal is exaggerated and deviates from the snake’s biological nature, as being a constrictor, it didn’t have venom.
There’s also an American documentary film, "Titanoboa: Monster Snake" (2012), as well as figurines, sculptures, artificial fossils, and clothing with its image.
Extinction of the Giant Snake
Extinction of the giant snake
According to estimates, Titanoboa died out about 58 million years ago. At least, there are no finds that suggest it existed any longer. It lived on our planet for about 2 million years.
The reason for its extinction is unknown. But it’s likely that changing environmental conditions were the cause. For example, the climate could have changed or competitors could have evolved, which might have led to a scarcity of food.
Humans gradually evolved about 2.6 million years ago during the Stone Age. Modern humans (Homo sapiens) have only been around for about 300,000 years.
Dinosaurs like the Brontosaurus or Stegosaurus lived on our planet for over 10 million years.
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