Scientists have found a brand-new ancient snake species, Vasuki Indicus, in Gujarat, India, which may have been among the largest snakes ever, rising to 15 meters in length and going back 47 million years. Credit: Scientific Reports (2024 ). DOI: 10.1038/ s41598-024-58377-0New research published in Scientific Reports suggests that a recently identified ancient snake species, named Vasuki Indicus, might have been among the biggest snakes ever. This species, which existed around 47 million years ago in Gujarat, India, reached lengths of 11 to 15 meters (36– 49 feet). Coming from the now-extinct madtsoiidae family, Vasuki Indicus represents an unique family tree that came from India.Debajit Datta and Sunil Bajpai explain a brand-new specimen recuperated from the Panandhro Lignite Mine, Kutch, Gujarat State, India, which dates to the Middle Eocene duration, roughly 47 million years earlier. The new types is named Vasuki Indicus after the mythical snake round the neck of the Hindu deity Shiva and in reference to its nation of discovery, India. The authors explain 27 primarily unspoiled vertebra, a few of which are articulated, which seem from a fully-grown animal.Size Estimation and Ecological RoleThe vertebrae measure between 37.5 and 62.7 millimeters in length and 62.4 and 111.4 millimeters in width, recommending a broad, round body. Theorizing from this, the authors estimate that V. Indicus may have reached in between 10.9 and 15.2 meters in length. This is similar in size to the longest recognized snake to have ever lived, the extinct Titanoboa, although the authors highlight the uncertainty around these price quotes. They even more hypothesize that V. Indicuss plus size made it a slow-moving, ambush predator akin to an anaconda.The authors recognize V. Indicus as coming from the madtsoiidae household, which existed for around 100 million years from the Late Cretaceous to the Late Pleistocene and lived in a broad geographical range including Africa, Europe, and India. They suggest that V. Indicus represents a lineage of big madtsoiids that stem in the Indian subcontinent and spread by means of southern Europe to Africa during the Eocene, roughly 56 to 34 million years ago.Reference: “Largest known madtsoiid snake from warm Eocene duration of India recommends intercontinental Gondwana dispersal” by Debajit Datta, and Sunil Bajpai, 18 April 2024, Scientific Reports.DOI: 10.1038/ s41598-024-58377-0.
