| “ | The length of an eighteen wheeler and weighing as much as 20 adult humans, Titanoboa is nearly twice the size of a modern day constrictor. Discovered in a Columbian mine, not much is known about this giant snake, who was around in the period following dinosaur extinction. | „ |
| — Allen Johnson, about Titanoboa in New Dawn | ||
Titanoboa (name meaning "Titanic Boa") is a genus of gargantuan Boidae that originated during the Early Paleocene epoch in what is now South America. Essentially a giant 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 3 premiere "New Dawn", a pair of Titanoboa (male and female) came through the portal from Middle Paleocene, 60 million years ago after the portal somehow opened.
Facts[]
Era & Discovery[]
Titanoboa lived in South America during the Middle to Late Paleocene epoch, around 64 – 55 million years ago, almost immediately following the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event. Titanoboa was among the apex predators of its time and region 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. Its skin was also so thick that it was virtually bulletproof.
Titanoboa skeleton
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. They ate crocodiles, fish, and even other snakes of their kind.
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.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Titanoboa is the largest snake brought to the park.
- The Titanoboa featured in Prehistoric Earth is slightly 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 14.3 m (47 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.