Titanoboa

## *Titanoboa cerrejonensis*

> *The length of an 18 wheeler and weighing more than 50 adult humans, the Titanoboa is three times the size of an anaconda. Discovered in a Columbian mine, not much is known about this giant snake, who was around in the period following the extinction of the dinosaurs.*
>
> Narrator, about *Titanoboa*

***Titanoboa*** (name meaning "*Titanic Boa*") is a genus of gargantuan Boidae that originated during the Middle Paleocene epoch in what is now South America. Essentially a large prehistoric snake measuring 15 meters long and weighing over a ton, *Titanoboa* was the largest snake of all time and evolved immediately following the extinction of the dinosaurs.

In the Series 2 premiere "*The Reign of Snakes*," A pair of *Titanoboa*, male and female, living to the swampy forest.

## Facts

### Era & Discovery

*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.

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 Attributes

*Titanoboa* was vaguely similar to modern-day constrictors, but only it was much larger. In fact, it is the largest species of snake that had ever lived on planet Earth; on average, measuring approximately 42 – 47 feet (12 – 14 m) long and weighing 1,135 kg (2,500 lb). However, the largest *Titanoboa* ever discovered reached a measurement of 50 feet (15 m) long and weighed 1.5 t (3,000 lb). It also possessed a large head equipped with large eyes and jaws possessing large and sharp teeth.

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 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, which Ruby Van Pelt once 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.

### 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

* *Titanoboa* is the largest extinct snakes.
* The *Titanoboa* featured in Prehistoric Earth is longer than any real-life remains of *Titanoboa* in the fossil record. The series portrays *Titanoboa* at 15 m (50 ft.) in length while in reality, *Titanoboa* grew up to 12.4 m (42 ft.) long at maximum.
* *Titanoboa*, like all snakes, cannot hear due to its lack of ears.
* The sound effects of *Titanoboa* are that of typical snake hisses (including cobra sounds) as well as crocodile hisses.