Humongous Snake Fossil Found

Illustration by Jason Bourque

Fossils of Titanoboa cerrejonesis were unearthed in a coal mine in Colombia. Studies show that this snake, which lived 60 million years ago, was the biggest snake ever at 42 feet (13 meters) long and weighed almost a ton at 2,000 pounds (1134 kilograms). “That’s longer than a city bus and … heavier than a car,” said lead study author Jason Head, a fossil-snake expert at the University of Toronto Mississauga in Canada and a research associate with the Smithsonian Institution.

Read more about the world’s biggest snake on National Geographic News.

The largest living snake is the anaconda. Get more facts in the Creature Feature.

Comments

esteban95
February 5, 2009, 8:48 pm

I used to handle snakes at the local zoo.I worked at the children’s zoo.They thought that a child might calm the children.
chelly
February 6, 2009, 5:30 pm

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!
madman96
February 9, 2009, 11:46 pm

i think this is crazy how big this snake was. i just think it is strange how they found out how heavy and long this was with just a fossil.
esteban95
February 10, 2009, 2:24 pm

that’s because they have better technology than they did when computers came out
trikid
February 11, 2009, 12:51 pm

Wow! That is one huge snake! It always amazes me when I think about what used to live on this Earth. Maybe someday I’ll discover a fossil like that!
james392
February 13, 2009, 9:50 am

If it is giant,is it an anaconda or what?…
sush
February 15, 2009, 11:29 am

imagine how great it would be if we were able to stand beside it and watch it out.HATS-OFF to our scientists who were successful in finding about it .GREAT YA.
hgfd666
February 16, 2009, 5:36 am

I’d rather for people to write about bunnies than giant snakes. because bunnies are cute and snakes aren’t. snakes aren’t cute because they don’t drink cola like bunnies do!
pj96
February 16, 2009, 8:46 am

Wow! That’s one big snake! But I hate the part where they say, ‘which lived 60 million years ago’ so matter-of-factly. Some people, (Like me) believe that the Earth is just thousands of years old.
ladygagalover
February 16, 2009, 4:29 pm

ew i wouldent like him around my neck
jayshawn
February 17, 2009, 11:02 am

lookey here its just a snake chelly
cow30025
February 17, 2009, 2:48 pm

This thing could eat a cow!!! No way!!! I did a report on this creature at my school.
Goat
February 17, 2009, 2:52 pm

I don’t know but I think it might be a snake although it kind of looks like a lizard.
jayshawn
February 17, 2009, 3:42 pm

yo goat it is a snake i resd about i in da news paper
pratyush3as
February 18, 2009, 9:12 am

Yeah jayshawn I support you. Though the creature is out of my expectations I firmly believe it.. Did you guys ever notice that the fossils found are mostly quite big!!
Anonymous
February 19, 2009, 9:44 am

but uh pratyush3as i understand what u saying but now that i really look at it,it looks like a drawin 2 me how bout u
Goat
February 19, 2009, 2:19 pm

Snakes are slimy and scary. This snake appears to be really big. I saw a snake once.
gilly
February 19, 2009, 4:27 pm

that snake is crazy!!! like its really crazy.
cow30025
February 19, 2009, 5:29 pm

Goat I support you on your opinion. I think they are very scary and slimy to. I saw a snake a a zoo once and it looked very scary. I wonder if this could eat a giraffe
cow30025
February 19, 2009, 5:37 pm

I would not like having this thing as a pet.
CurlyQ1989
February 19, 2009, 5:56 pm

Just looking at it creeps me out!That is one enourmous,slimy,stupid and horrifing snake!I mean I like Dino’s.Not like em,like em, I just like to play with them!
Goat
February 19, 2009, 7:12 pm

You seem like a very intelligent person cow30025. I wonder if it could eat a giraffe? What a wonderful question. There is a snake in The Simpsons Movie.
esteban95
February 20, 2009, 12:14 pm

I think that a discovery like that is really painting a picture of what lived millions of years ago.
gilly
February 24, 2009, 3:40 pm

ladygagalover that snake is big you can tell but don’t be afraid of it.
grabbyfriu
March 12, 2009, 5:35 pm

That is humungo and if that were in my or your house, then? I’l tell u that i’ll surely freak out!
grabbyfriu
March 12, 2009, 5:36 pm

Goat and cow, snakes are really reptiles and have scaley skin.
grabbyfriu
March 12, 2009, 5:39 pm

well gilly person, i woul just freak out! If u think i’m a boy, then you’re thinking the opposite! I would scream my skull out!
sasha
March 19, 2009, 11:42 am

gee thats a huge snake
grabbyfriu
March 19, 2009, 6:35 pm

UMMM…. HUMUNGO I SHOULD SAY!
esteban95
March 20, 2009, 5:24 pm

I think that all of you that think of this finding,You are partly offending me by saying that they are slimy,stupid,and hoorifing because I am a reptile owner and own several snakes!!!!! ]:-(
esteban95
March 26, 2009, 9:42 pm

those people that think that snakes are scary,well you are nothing close to the danger that my mom had to go through as a child.
tiger
May 5, 2009, 5:09 pm

I love the gient snake fossil i wish it still was ulive but things happen
jjmr
May 5, 2009, 5:14 pm

that is a giant snake
nemo
May 5, 2009, 5:41 pm

Icant believe that animal got extinct because it needed that warm air.
jjmr123 reed
May 5, 2009, 5:42 pm

that’s a big huge snake
rovert
May 5, 2009, 5:44 pm

that is a big snake
poppy101
May 5, 2009, 11:33 pm

that is the biggest snake ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
nemo
May 7, 2009, 5:05 pm

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh run
tony
May 7, 2009, 5:07 pm

that is a really cool snake. if i had to fight it i would lose.
name1
May 21, 2009, 7:45 pm

cool
diva99
June 25, 2009, 10:50 am

i do not know how much it weights or how long it is but its nasty and gross look at my face
doonie72
September 28, 2009, 2:52 pm

this is cool
TheWebkinzPanda
November 5, 2009, 8:20 pm

scary snake! wouldn’t want to be bitten by THAT
baboe
January 16, 2010, 10:03 am

THat’s huge! but it’s also really gross! how can a snake get that long?!
esteban95
January 30, 2010, 4:55 pm

to all who think snakes are slimy: GET A LIFE!!!!!!!! they are very helpful in keeping down the rat population and other rodents
Campos
March 2, 2010, 6:01 pm

If my Grandmother saw this she would FAINT!!!!!!!!!
Campos
March 2, 2010, 6:16 pm

I’m so glad that I’m not afraid of snakes!!!!!!
I think snakes are cool.
bobby
March 11, 2010, 6:59 pm

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwooooooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
jimbob1234
March 17, 2010, 2:53 pm

yessssssssyessssssyessssssss
animallover123
January 5, 2011, 10:21 pm

You know, that snake reminds me of an anaconda. Its huge and scary. I ‘ve watch “Anaconda:queen of serpent” and tha anaconda looks like the snake. i guess that snake is the ancestor of the anaconda. Do you agree?
Tingga
February 3, 2011, 9:58 pm

That is really cool, but I am glad it is extinct.
sparkle2601
February 27, 2011, 8:29 pm

Whoa!!!! THats a BIG snake! I like snakes a bit but that one is just out of my league! I’m more fond of the small corn snakes (and fairly bigger non-poisenous snakes) in the pet store and that kind of non-poisenous type.
barnowl24601
February 14, 2012, 7:17 pm

Snakes are awesome and I want one as a pet
But this one is far too big to be a pet
In other words this snake is on the MEGA side
The king of snakes

Barnowl24601
ipadincalifornia
February 17, 2012, 11:12 pm

huge..love to find that in my backyard!
SnakesRule
April 10, 2012, 4:11 pm

t am going to get a pet snake for my birthday!!!!
i cant imagine having a pet snake that big!!!
it would like take up my house!!
i love snakes so so much!!!
ipadincalifornia
April 11, 2012, 11:19 pm

HOW? HOW DO I GET THAT TO COME AND ET MY SISTER?!
if only it wasn’t extinct…
oceangirl15
May 11, 2012, 10:03 am

Um hgfd666, bunnies don’t drink cola. They eat carrots and spinach and sometimes bits of fruit. esteban95, we’re just saying we thing it’s a bit scary since it’s so big. barnowl24601, you seem pretty smart. I bet it would be king of the snakes in todays world. ipadincalifornia, really? y would u feed ur sister to it? That is so mean! This snake is not something I’d want in my house! I held a corn snake once at a nature center but I would not hold this thing for $100.00!
oceangirl15
May 21, 2012, 8:25 pm

Okay, forget what I said about bunnies eating bits of fruit. I was thinking about something else. Bunnies eat hay, but they can also have veggies like carrots. Sorry about that! {Warning: Bunnies can’t eat ALL veggies. Some types of leaves u put in salad can make them ill.}
Lemurgirl7
July 27, 2012, 9:31 pm

COOL!
SnakeKid902
August 5, 2012, 2:31 pm

Wow! That`s a huge Snake!I love Snakes!i`m going to get a pet Snake For My Birthday.But, not a snake that BIG!!!! I Really Like Catching Snakes But, The Biggest one I`ve caught only weighs 550 pounds.