1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:07,200 Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey brain Stuff, 2 00:00:07,240 --> 00:00:11,360 Speaker 1: Lauren bulk Bomb. Here the dinosaurs were not the only 3 00:00:11,440 --> 00:00:13,920 Speaker 1: creatures that kicked the buckets sixty five and a half 4 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:17,000 Speaker 1: million years ago. It was one of the greatest mass 5 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:20,720 Speaker 1: extinction events of all time when the last t rex died. 6 00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:24,840 Speaker 1: Other reptilian lineages, from the winged pterosaurs to huge aquatic 7 00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:29,240 Speaker 1: relatives of today's monitor lizards, also fell, marking the dawn 8 00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:33,120 Speaker 1: of our current geologic era, the Cenozoic, or the Age 9 00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:37,480 Speaker 1: of Mammals. But don't let this nickname fool you. Although 10 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:41,360 Speaker 1: mammals diversified like wild in the Cenozoic, Earth wasn't done 11 00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:45,600 Speaker 1: with giant reptiles. Yet. Scientists break the Cnozoic down into 12 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:49,800 Speaker 1: subdivisions called epox and the first of these, the Paleocene 13 00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:54,200 Speaker 1: saw the rise of Titana boa Sara genensis, a colossal 14 00:00:54,280 --> 00:01:00,200 Speaker 1: snake that makes modern pythons and anaconda's look like spaghetti noodles. 15 00:01:00,240 --> 00:01:03,760 Speaker 1: Species name comes from Sarah Hone, a vast coal mine 16 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:07,080 Speaker 1: in northern Colombia that produces tens of millions of tons 17 00:01:07,080 --> 00:01:11,280 Speaker 1: of coal every year. Yet coal isn't the only precious 18 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:16,440 Speaker 1: commodity available there. Working alongside the miners, paleontologists have an 19 00:01:16,440 --> 00:01:20,840 Speaker 1: earth thousands of Cenozoic fossils and Sarah hone, approximately fifty 20 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:23,600 Speaker 1: eight million years old. These fossils date back to the 21 00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:27,759 Speaker 1: early Paleocene and represent plants similar to bananas and coconuts, 22 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:31,920 Speaker 1: plus river fish, crocodile like predators, and turtles with shells 23 00:01:31,959 --> 00:01:35,039 Speaker 1: nearly six ft or two meters long, just to name 24 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:39,080 Speaker 1: a few. These fossils tell us the area was tropical 25 00:01:39,080 --> 00:01:43,039 Speaker 1: and swampy, much like the Amazon River Delta today. Why 26 00:01:43,240 --> 00:01:46,520 Speaker 1: leaved jungle trees would have flanked ancient rivers choked with 27 00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:51,280 Speaker 1: water plants and out in the steaming wilderness. Titanoboa lurked. 28 00:01:52,640 --> 00:01:55,440 Speaker 1: Fossils from twenty eight of these giant snakes have been 29 00:01:55,440 --> 00:01:59,280 Speaker 1: recovered at sarah Holme. Unfortunately, they've yet to locate a 30 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:02,920 Speaker 1: complete scala ten. Instead, the scientific community has had to 31 00:02:02,920 --> 00:02:05,880 Speaker 1: make do with an assortment of ribs, vertebra, and some 32 00:02:06,080 --> 00:02:11,120 Speaker 1: skull material. Yet even these fines speak volumes. By comparing 33 00:02:11,160 --> 00:02:13,560 Speaker 1: the fossils to the bones of living snakes, we can 34 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:16,040 Speaker 1: get a pretty good idea of what Titana Boa looked like. 35 00:02:16,639 --> 00:02:19,560 Speaker 1: For example, subtle clues in the vertebra indicate that the 36 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:24,000 Speaker 1: animal was what's called a bood. It makes sense geographically. 37 00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:27,639 Speaker 1: Boads are a family of snakes usually found in the America's. 38 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:31,760 Speaker 1: Being non venomous, they tend to kill by constriction. Of 39 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:35,440 Speaker 1: all the boats alive today. Titana BoA's closest relative might 40 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:38,400 Speaker 1: be the red tailed boa, a denizen of Central and 41 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:41,000 Speaker 1: South America that can grow up to thirteen feet or 42 00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:44,120 Speaker 1: four meters long. If you happen to be familiar with 43 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:47,440 Speaker 1: the film A Clockwork Orange, it's the snake that Alex keeps. 44 00:02:48,760 --> 00:02:52,080 Speaker 1: Titana Boa also invites comparisons to a much larger boad, 45 00:02:52,440 --> 00:02:56,040 Speaker 1: the green anaconda, Weighing up to four hundred and forty 46 00:02:56,040 --> 00:02:59,840 Speaker 1: pounds that's two hundred kilos. This South American serpent is 47 00:02:59,840 --> 00:03:04,240 Speaker 1: the heaviest modern snake. The biggest reliably measured specimen was 48 00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:08,280 Speaker 1: over twenty seven ft or eight meters in length over 49 00:03:08,320 --> 00:03:12,120 Speaker 1: in Asia. The unrelated reticulated python can exceed this figure, 50 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:14,480 Speaker 1: stretching up to twenty eight feet or eight and a 51 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:18,280 Speaker 1: half meters long in some cases, but the reddick has 52 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:21,320 Speaker 1: a sleeker frame. Experts don't think it can rival the 53 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:26,480 Speaker 1: anaconda's maximum waite. Regardless, neither serpent could have held a 54 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:31,480 Speaker 1: candle to Titanaboa. Scientists estimate that the Paleocene predator could 55 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:34,359 Speaker 1: have been forty two to forty seven ft in total 56 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:39,240 Speaker 1: length about thirteen to fourteen meters, and theoretically it might 57 00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:42,280 Speaker 1: have tipped the scales at one and a quarter tons 58 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:47,520 Speaker 1: longer than the Tyrannosaurus rex. Titanoboa Sara genensis is the 59 00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:52,840 Speaker 1: biggest snake known to science, living or extinct. So here's 60 00:03:52,840 --> 00:03:57,960 Speaker 1: a question, what would a snake so massive eat? Green 61 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:02,440 Speaker 1: anaconda's famously eat. Cappabert is the adorable pig sized rodents 62 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:06,360 Speaker 1: with semi aquatic habits. Smaller cousins of the American alligator 63 00:04:06,480 --> 00:04:10,280 Speaker 1: are also on their menu. When the Smithsonian created a 64 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:13,680 Speaker 1: life sized Titanaboa sculpture for display as part of its 65 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:18,520 Speaker 1: Titanaboa Monster Snake Exhibit, in it showed the mighty snake 66 00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:22,080 Speaker 1: wolfing down a crocodilian. Google a picture of this. It 67 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:25,280 Speaker 1: is the fastest that I've said nope about anything. All 68 00:04:25,320 --> 00:04:30,640 Speaker 1: weak and we live in nope filled times. The following year, 69 00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:35,040 Speaker 1: researchers published a description of Titanaboa as head structure. Anatomically, 70 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:38,359 Speaker 1: the reptile's teeth and jaws resemble those of modern snakes 71 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:42,919 Speaker 1: that specialize in eating fish. If Titanaboa followed suit, that 72 00:04:42,920 --> 00:04:44,880 Speaker 1: would make it the only boat on record with a 73 00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:49,920 Speaker 1: fish centric diet. Like the green anaconda, Titanaboa probably spent 74 00:04:50,040 --> 00:04:53,039 Speaker 1: a great deal of time in bodies of water. There, 75 00:04:53,120 --> 00:04:55,880 Speaker 1: it could have more easily lugged its massive body weight 76 00:04:55,920 --> 00:05:00,200 Speaker 1: around and beat the jungles sweltering heat. Researchers have side 77 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:02,960 Speaker 1: of this animal as evidence of the Paleocen's hot climate. 78 00:05:03,960 --> 00:05:06,599 Speaker 1: Climate scientists think the world was far warmer in the 79 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:10,400 Speaker 1: early Paleocene than it is today, reptiles may have reaped 80 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:13,880 Speaker 1: the benefits. For the most part, snakes, lizards, turtles, and 81 00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:17,240 Speaker 1: crocodiles can't generate body heat the way that mammals like 82 00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:21,599 Speaker 1: us do. Instead, they maintain their vital functions by absorbing 83 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:26,279 Speaker 1: warmth from their environments. So by taking into account titani 84 00:05:26,279 --> 00:05:29,640 Speaker 1: BoA's size, scientists can make an educated guess about the 85 00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:33,479 Speaker 1: environment that it lived in. By some calculations, the very 86 00:05:33,560 --> 00:05:37,440 Speaker 1: existence of such a huge, cold blooded reptile indicates that 87 00:05:37,520 --> 00:05:40,880 Speaker 1: Columbia must have had a mean annual temperature of eighty 88 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:43,760 Speaker 1: six to ninety three degrees fahrenheit. That's thirty to thirty 89 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:46,679 Speaker 1: four degrees celsius, and the snake reigned fifty eight million 90 00:05:46,760 --> 00:05:52,120 Speaker 1: years ago. But perhaps dead boards aren't the most reliable gauges. 91 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:56,440 Speaker 1: We spoke via email with Kale Snyderman, an earth scientist 92 00:05:56,480 --> 00:05:59,680 Speaker 1: at the University of Melbourne in Australia who studies prestoric 93 00:05:59,680 --> 00:06:04,000 Speaker 1: climb and ecosystems. He notes that the Pleistocene, an epoch 94 00:06:04,080 --> 00:06:06,840 Speaker 1: that ended about ten thousand years ago and included Earth's 95 00:06:06,839 --> 00:06:10,520 Speaker 1: most recent ice age, also had its share of big reptiles. 96 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:14,800 Speaker 1: He said many now extinct reptile species existed in the 97 00:06:14,839 --> 00:06:18,800 Speaker 1: Palistocene that were larger than their living relatives. Those extinct 98 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:22,080 Speaker 1: species lived at a time when climates pretty much everywhere 99 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:24,760 Speaker 1: were at least one to three degrees celsius, about two 100 00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:30,560 Speaker 1: to five degrees fahrenheit cooler than today. Consider Varanus priscus, 101 00:06:30,560 --> 00:06:33,839 Speaker 1: a komodo dragon relative the patrolled Australia during the last 102 00:06:33,880 --> 00:06:36,560 Speaker 1: ice Age. At roughly fifteen feet or five and a 103 00:06:36,600 --> 00:06:39,360 Speaker 1: half meters long, it was far bigger than the lizards 104 00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:43,400 Speaker 1: we have today. And speaking of saurians, the biggest getto 105 00:06:43,480 --> 00:06:46,080 Speaker 1: of all time died out in its native New Zealand 106 00:06:46,279 --> 00:06:50,520 Speaker 1: just a few hundred years ago. Snyderman said, neither occurred 107 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:54,719 Speaker 1: in warm climates by global standards. It could be that 108 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:58,280 Speaker 1: giant reptiles don't need an oppressively hot planet to survive 109 00:06:58,320 --> 00:07:01,479 Speaker 1: and thrive. After all, petition for mammals might be a 110 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:06,000 Speaker 1: bigger check on their success. In any case, Titana boa 111 00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:09,680 Speaker 1: is long gone, so is the ice age Komodo dragon 112 00:07:09,840 --> 00:07:13,600 Speaker 1: and the Great New Zealand gecko. Yet their cousins remain 113 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:18,720 Speaker 1: enriching our world with flashy scales, forked tongues, and adhesive topads. 114 00:07:19,440 --> 00:07:21,640 Speaker 1: This may be an age of mammals, but there are 115 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:30,200 Speaker 1: still some wonderful reptiles among us. Today's episode was written 116 00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:33,040 Speaker 1: by Mark Vancini and produced by Tyler Clang. For more 117 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:35,280 Speaker 1: on this lots of other weighty topics, visit how stuff 118 00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:37,640 Speaker 1: works dot com. Brain Stuff. It's a production of I 119 00:07:37,720 --> 00:07:40,320 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. 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