The largest snake on Earth is the Titanoboa, a prehistoric snake that lived in what is now Colombia about 60 million years ago. Titanoboa was an enormous snake, reaching lengths of up to 48 feet and weighing up to 2,500 pounds. It was the largest land predator of its time, and it is likely that it preyed on large mammals such as tapirs and capybaras.
Titanoboa was discovered in 2009 by a team of palaeontologists led by Jonathan Bloch of the American Museum of Natural History. The team found the remains of several Titanoboa skeletons in a fossilized riverbed, and they were able to use these remains to reconstruct the snake's size and appearance.
Titanoboa's discovery has shed new light on the evolution of snakes. It is thought that Titanoboa evolved in response to the warm climate of the Miocene epoch when the Earth was about 10 degrees Celsius warmer than it is today. The warm climate allowed Titanoboa to grow to enormous sizes, and it is likely that other large snakes evolved during this time as well.
Titanoboa is no longer alive, but its discovery has helped us to understand the diversity and size of snakes that have existed in the past. It is a reminder that snakes can be enormous predators, and it is important to be aware of their potential danger.
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