![]() The snake’s internal temp and metabolism would have relied heavily on the temps in its habitat. What’s usually the case with ectothermic animals (species with an internal temp that’s the same as their environment), the closer to the equator the animal lives, the larger it is. The discovery gave clues about the climate - supporting such a snake would require higher temps than what are seen in the South American tropics today. Before this finding, very few vertebrae fossils from this region and period had been uncovered. Scientists made the historical discovery of several Titanoboa remains in the Cerrejón Formation of the coal mines of Cerrejón (Colombia). Hanging from its mouth appeared to be a crocodile’s tail. In 2012, the Smithsonian in Grand Central Station set up a mockup to give viewers a visual representation of just how ginormous Titanoboas could get. They were piscivores - meaning, their diet comprised mainly of fish. They determined that the snake would have needed annual average temps between 86-93 degrees Fahrenheit to support its size. ![]() Scientists used the snake’s size to approximate the temperature of its habitat. Titanoboas were the largest snake from the Paleocene epoch, reaching up to 50 feet in length and 2,500 lbs in weight.
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