Prehistoric Snakes So Scary, Even Titanoboa Would Hide

Bright Side

You’ve heard of Titanoboa, right? That giant snake from prehistoric times that could swallow a crocodile whole?  Well, scientists just found fossils of even scarier snakes that might’ve made Titanoboa think twice. These ancient beasts lived millions of years ago and were massive, with fangs and bones that suggest they were top predators. What’s wild is that they lived in a time when the Earth was super hot and steamy—perfect for giant reptiles. Just imagining these snakes slithering through the jungle is enough to give you chills!

Transcript

00:00Beneath the thick, shadowy canopy of a prehistoric rainforest, a silent hunter slides into the

00:07murky river waters.

00:09This is Titanoboa.

00:12Its size is horrifying, stretching over 40 feet long, which is about the length of a

00:17school bus, and weighing as much as a small car.

00:21It rains as the largest snake ever known.

00:26This is around 60 million years ago.

00:28It's only been 6 million years since the dinosaurs were wiped out by an uninvited asteroid.

00:35Nature is slowly returning to life, the Paleocene epic.

00:40Titanoboa's home is lush and sweltering.

00:42The air is very humid, like in a steam room.

00:46And the rivers are teeming with fish, perfect for a predator like this.

00:50Now that the dinosaurs are gone, Titanoboa becomes the queen of hunting.

00:55It's perfectly built for both power and stealth.

01:00A strong, sturdy spine can hold the snake's massive size while staying smooth and silent.

01:07Titanoboa glides through the water like a shadow, barely visible.

01:11It doesn't chase.

01:12It doesn't need to.

01:14Titanoboa waits beneath the river's surface in darkness.

01:17A bunch of ancient lungfish meanders too close.

01:22With one surge, it lunges, its jaws snapping shut.

01:26The fish doesn't stand a chance.

01:28Titanoboa's grip is unrelenting.

01:30After the prey stops moving, the snake immediately consumes it all.

01:35For millions of years, this snake ruled the rainforests.

01:39Nothing could challenge it.

01:41Not the prehistoric crocodiles.

01:42Not the small mammals.

01:44Not even the birds.

01:46But, as it turns out, it wasn't the only apex predator.

01:51Alongside Titanoboa, there was this entire family of snakes.

01:55A huge biological tree full of snake genomes and species.

01:59Their history spans around 100 million years, all the way to the Cretaceous period.

02:06We find their fossils all over South America, Africa, India, and Australia.

02:11That's because they evolved in the Gondwanin continents.

02:15Back then, all of this was one huge landmass, and they lived right in the heart of it.

02:20Now, this family coexisted with all the dinosaurs.

02:24The dinosaurs ruled the world back then, and the snakes couldn't be all that dangerous.

02:28They lived in the dinosaur's shadow, adapting to survive.

02:33Some of them fed on small mammals.

02:35Others waited for the dinosaur eggs to hatch.

02:38Some were super bold and went straight for baby dinosaurs.

02:43Fossils of one species showed the remains of a little titanosaur.

02:47That giant long-necked dinosaur inside its stomach.

02:51And when the age of dinosaurs finally ended in a fiery cataclysm, it was time for these snakes to celebrate.

02:59After the asteroid disaster, the world entered a new era of heat and humidity.

03:04The warmer the client, the easier it is for cold reptiles to thrive.

03:10Snakes, including titanoboa, grew larger than ever.

03:14But so did the members of this family.

03:17All the snakes spread across continents, growing larger and scarier by the century.

03:22And eventually, titanoboa stopped being the only ruler of jungles.

03:29Fast forward to about 47 million years ago.

03:32Now it's the middle Eocene epoch.

03:35The tropical lowlands of what today is western India.

03:39A lush, swampy place, full of rivers and pools.

03:43The earth was warmer, with turtles and crocodile-like creatures basking in the sun.

03:47And there evolved the largest and most fearsome predator of them all.

03:53Vasuki indicus.

03:55Even the name feels important.

03:57Vasuki, the serpent king of Hindu mythology.

04:00A colossal snake that's coiled around the neck of Lord Shiva.

04:04Strong and loyal.

04:06And the indicus part is because the snake's fossils were discovered in India.

04:12Vasuki surpassed titanoboa.

04:14And grew to a jaw-dropping length of 50 feet, like a four-story building.

04:19It also weighed as much as a small elephant.

04:23Unlike titanoboa, who preferred to hunt in the rivers, Vasuki mostly hunted on land.

04:30Though it still could venture into the water when needed.

04:33It prowled the marshy ground with quiet, calculated movements.

04:37Blending with the dense undergrowth.

04:41Vasuki also ate crocodiles.

04:43Massive turtles.

04:45And even early whales in local water pools.

04:48No one stood a chance.

04:50It had immense muscles and squeezed with unimaginable force.

04:54But the snake's jaws were much scarier.

04:58Unlike titanoboa and today's pythons,

05:01Vasuki couldn't swallow massive prey whole.

05:04Instead, it ate them alive with its teeth, just like this.

05:08Fast and absolutely brutal, it was an apex predator of its time.

05:14And don't forget that we're not talking about one titanoboa or one Vasuki.

05:19These snakes were part of entire populations.

05:22In the Paleocene, rivers were full of various titanoboas.

05:27Some were younger, smaller ones, fighting for survival.

05:30While the oldest and largest ones dominated the waterways.

05:34In the same way as generations of Vasuki and Dickus competed with each other for thousands of years.

05:40Through the years, many siblings of this family got themselves a region to rule over.

05:47For example, alongside Vasuki, this big guy was thriving in northern Africa, in what is today's Egypt.

05:55Back then, this land was full of water and swamps.

05:58Before we learn more about other snakes, this one was considered the largest, about 36 feet long.

06:03That's still bigger than today's most powerful snakes, like the green anaconda.

06:10But then, we reached the Pleistocene epoch.

06:13From about 2.5 million years ago to only 11,000 years ago.

06:18Modern humans were evolving all over the world.

06:21And now, the snakes had a new problem.

06:23An even worse one than dinosaurs.

06:26While we were developing brains, in Australia, they're ruled the local king of snakes.

06:32Their names also come from legends.

06:35That's how indigenous Australians called their mythological rainbow serpent the creator of the world.

06:42It's like a problem of a chicken and an egg.

06:44Was the snake named after a deity?

06:46Or did the aboriginal people create their deity after a snake?

06:51Ancient Australians coexisted with those predators for thousands of years.

06:55They warned their children how to avoid dangerous spots, passing down stories of the terrifying serpents.

07:00In their legends, the great rainbow serpent was shaping the land, rivers, and features of the world.

07:07These legends were most likely inspired by the powerful nature of those snakes.

07:12If only they knew that these animals weren't even as huge as Vesuki or Titanoboa.

07:18Though they were still dangerous.

07:20Your lungor was up to 26 feet in length.

07:22They preferred the more green and humid parts of Miocene Australia, like waterways with lush plants around the riverbanks.

07:31And there was much more potential prey.

07:34Your lungor had a thick body as wide as a human thigh.

07:38It loved to hunt in what is today the Northwest Queensland.

07:42Its fossils were found in the limestone of Riversleigh.

07:46It was a fascinating find.

07:48The skull was almost intact, with teeth and everything.

07:52Which is crazy, considering that snake skulls are very fragile and usually don't survive fossilization.

07:58Just like snakes before it, your lungor didn't rely on venom.

08:02It was a constrictor, quick and powerful.

08:05But at least now, these reptiles weren't as brutal.

08:08Their hugs quickly caused cardiac arrest in their prey.

08:12So the end came rather quickly.

08:15Also, they no longer could swallow the prey whole.

08:18And didn't have the same sharp teeth as Vesuki or Titanoboa.

08:22So both your lungor and wanambi had to eat very slowly, just like pythons today.

08:29Meanwhile, wanambi was about 20 feet long.

08:32This one had a similar head, so it could only hunt marsupials, reptiles, and other little things that ventured too close.

08:40Wanambi's domain was the waterhole.

08:43It lay coiled in the shade, motionless, its body blending seamlessly with the dusty earth.

08:49If kangaroos and wallabies cautiously approached a drink, they wouldn't even notice the predator until it was too late.

08:56The wanambi snakes lingered in Australia for millions of years.

09:01Even when the climate and ecosystem changed, it didn't bother these guys.

09:05In fact, they thrived in Australia's cooler, drier regions.

09:09Yet, even giants fall.

09:11Time moved on, the earth cooled even more, and nature began to change.

09:17Wanambi managed to last up to around 50,000 years ago, and could have lasted longer if it wasn't for humans.

09:23The same aboriginal Australians who once feared wanambi eventually spelled the end for the snake.

09:30All these years of being the apex predator, only for the little apes to hunt you into extinction.

09:36But that's how evolution goes.

09:39Eventually, all the giant snakes disappeared, leaving behind only their fossils and stories like this one.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended