India’s 47-Million-Year-Old Giant Snake Fossil: Measures 47 Feet in Length, Weighs Over 1 Ton

A 15-meter-long fossil of a colossal snake, believed to have lived 47 million years ago in India, has been discovered.

A research team from the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IITR) announced on the 19th (local time) that they have uncovered 27 well-preserved snake vertebrae fossils in a mine in Gujarat, western India. This discovery was reported in the esteemed international academic journal Scientific Reports.

The vertebrae, ranging from approximately 1.47 to 2.47 inches in length and 2.45 to 4.38 inches in width, suggest forming a vast cylindrical body. Based on these measurements, the estimated body length of the snake falls between a minimum of 35.7 feet and a maximum of 149.9 feet, with a weight exceeding 1 ton (t).

While the research team acknowledges the inherent uncertainty surrounding these estimations, they propose that this snake could potentially rank as the largest among known species. It resembles the extinct Titanoboa, previously recognized as the longest snake, measuring between approximately 42 feet and 47 feet.

The discovered snake fossil has been identified as Vasuki indicus, an ancient species that existed from 12 million to 90 million years ago and inhabited the Earth during the Eocene epoch approximately 66 million years ago.

V. indicus belonged to the Madtsoiidae family of giant snakes, which thrived across India, Africa, and Europe during a warm geological period spanning 100 million years from the late Cretaceous to the Eocene, characterized by an estimated average temperature of around 82.4°F.

The research team further speculated that the snake was likely a predator, employing ambush tactics and slow movements reminiscent of an anaconda to hunt its prey. However, they emphasized the necessity for additional investigation due to the absence of a skull in this study.