Comments on: Titanoboa cerrejonensis

By: I Like Mutants « Odd One Out

I Like Mutants « Odd One Out — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 21:59:46 +0000

[...] “Titanoboa cerrejonensis.“ [...]

By: ScottE

ScottE — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 01:01:57 +0000

The fact that snakes are basically really long tubes (and thus do not retain heat very well) may have something to do with their dependence upon hot climes for increasing in size.

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 21:10:31 +0000

This is a really interesting post. I found it by searching through lists of blogs at ResearchBlogging. It’s too bad you don’t use their simple citation mechanism to put some of your posts there…

By: Katherine Barton

Katherine Barton — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 13:53:32 +0000

“Why are snakes’ body sizes more tied to temperature than other ecothermic animals?”

I’d like to know that answer to that aswell.

It’s sort of funny, but I’m terrified of the idea of something so very big, and at the same time I wish that we could discover a live snake of that size.

Does anyone know of a website that has a picture of the skull of the Titanoboa? I’m curious to see how the bone structure differentiates from a modern species(which is the green anaconda, right?).

By: Zach Miller

Zach Miller — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 23:54:44 +0000

I question the biothermometer hypothesis. Couldn’t the same be said for lizards and crocs? The largest crocs (salties) don’t live in the hottest places, and neither does the largest lizard (Komodo islands). Why are snakes’ body sizes more tied to temperature than other ecothermic animals?

By: Matt Celeskey

Matt Celeskey — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 04:14:37 +0000

Thanks, Christopher, for finding out and reporting back–much appreciated!

Joey – I’m no expert, but I don’t think we’ll find a snake that large in our time. Iif the scientists that described Titanoboa are correct in their climatic assumptions, then today’s tropics are too cold for a snake of that size to survive.

Heidi – thanks for the link. I’m fascinated with what paleontologists can learn from fragmentary fossils, as well. Check out the latest post at microecos for more about how nifty this particular fossil-based inference is.

By: Christopher Taylor

Christopher Taylor — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 22:57:41 +0000

I’ve heard back from Jason Heads, who confirms that the press release photo is a green anaconda. That’ll teach me for being an overly clever bugger.

By: Joey Perez

Joey Perez — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 22:00:53 +0000

i think there is more than just one giant snake fossilized in the Earth’s ground. I think whoever the person is that found this monstrousis animal should think this another of this Titanoboa cerrejonensis. Do you think there could be one now in our time if not explain?

By: Heidi- Zoology student

Heidi- Zoology student — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 21:19:45 +0000

This is a good link on T. Cerrejonensis-
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article5662915.ece

By: Heidi- Zoology student

Heidi- Zoology student — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 21:12:32 +0000

Can you imagine that thing slithering past you?? It’d take half an hour! But you daren’t tell it that…
It’s hard to imagine a creature quite that big isn’t it? especially a snake. It never occured to me that a cold-blooded organisms’ eventual adult size was dependent on the mean annual temperature of it’s environment, but then again I suppose it would have to be, wouldn’t it?
It also fascinates me how palaeontologists manage to deduce so much information about the life of fossilized organisms that are so old, with so little information.