Hi there. As you know, [DON’T REVEAL THE
CREATURE YET] there are creatures that have a spine-chilling effect on almost everyone.
Lethal and powerful, able to adapt to different climates and conditions, they’ve lived on
Earth for millions of years, and nowadays you can still find them on almost every continent.
No, it’s not house cats. (Well maybe in your neck of the woods.) No, I'm actually
talking about snakes, those amazing legless and terrifying beasts, that many centuries
ago used to be so huge, they could have hunted and eaten dinosaurs! Hey, I’d watch that. Just 6 million years after the infamous Tyrannosaurus-Rex
roamed the planet, another terrifying predator took its place. Able to put most horror-movie
directors to shame, it was a horrifying giant snake. Meet Titanoboa, the biggest serpent
that has ever lived on Earth. It thrived in South American jungles after the extinction
of dinosaurs, about 65 million years ago -- but hey, who’s counting?. And it wasn’t South
America back then now, was it? So, do you remember Anaconda? No not THAT
music video! – I’m talking about the MOVIE, Anaconda, and the snake that was about to
snack on Jennifer Lopez? Well, how about this: the Titanoboa was even larger than that monster!
According to the researchers who discovered the fossilized remains of the prehistoric
snake in northern Colombia, the bones in it’s skeleton were as wide as a man's hand. For
comparison, a modern anaconda's vertebra is just a bit more than 1 inch in width. Ooh.
The biggest representatives of Titanoboa grew up to 40 ft long, which is almost as long
as a semitrailer, and weighed more than a ton! On top of that, in its thickest point,
Titanoboa could be up to 3 feet wide, which means it would reach the waistline of an adult!
When the researchers examined the site where the fossilized remains were found, they discovered
not one, but eight prehistoric monster snakes there. They also managed to figure out what
was on the dinner menu for these creatures after finding the remains of modern crocodiles'
ancestors and a giant turtle that was more than 6 ft in length at the same site! Yep,
it turns out that the huge snakes were not only perfectly capable of eating "fleshy"
animals, but they could also digest shells and bones! The only problem was that this
process took significantly longer than usual. (Hey you just ate a turtle. You in a hurry
or something?) Unfortunately, it was extremely difficult
for scientists to find the Titanoboa's skull. The problem is that unlike jaws, which are
extremely powerful thanks to their muscles, snake bones are pretty fragile. That's why
they usually crumble long before the sediment can appear over them. However, the researchers
managed to find the remains of 28 gigantic serpents, including 3 skull fragments! Thanks
to this discovery, they’ve made a full-scale replica of the snake's head, which supported
the theory that it used to be one of the largest predators of its time! (Oh boy.)
In fact, had they lived at the same time, the Titanoboa could have come out as the winner
in a fight with the T-Rex! The dino, which was one of the most feared predators of its
time, was equipped with bone-crushing jaws, powerful legs and a tail that was used to
thrash its prey and enemies. Besides, this critter had a bite force equal to that of
not one, but two, great white sharks! On the other hand, (but wait, snakes HAVE NO hands),
the Titanoboa had unsurpassed constriction skills. When the giant snake squeezed its
prey, the pressure could reach 400 lbs per square inch. In other words, the snake's enemies
felt as if three Eiffel Towers were squishing them! That's why, if the snake managed to
wrap around the T-Rex, it would have easily succeeded in bringing the dino down. (Hah!)
However, the snake appeared after the dinosaurs had been wiped off the surface of the planet.
That's why its main food was smaller snakes, mammals and birds, turtles, crocodiles, and
lungfish. (No burgers. No fries.) Well, although the Titanoboa sounds like a
fascinating creature, I'm glad it doesn't exist nowadays... But what about the longest
and most powerful snakes of the modern world? Are they really much smaller than the Titanoboa
used to be? First of all, all of the biggest snakes nowadays belong to the python, anaconda,
and boa constrictor families, which are non-venomous. Now before you relax too much about that,
instead of subduing their prey with venom, constrictors squeeze it in a death grip to
consume later. (Kinda like take out.) Some of the longest snakes nowadays are pythons.
See for yourself: the biggest reticulated python can grow up to 29 ft, which is almost
as long as a London bus! (Hey let’s measure. You hold the tape.) Green anacondas, which
live in South America, don't lag behind: females are longer than males and can grow up to 23
ft, which is three-and-a-half times as long as your bed! (Well just think about that one
tonight! He’s coiled up 3 & ½ times under your bed! Oops, I’m sorry.) Anyway, the
green anaconda is the world's heaviest snake! At 550 lbs, it weighs three times as much
as a Kangaroo. You've probably heard that these creepy creatures
can munch on animals that are much bigger than the snake itself. Pigs, antelopes, deer,
rodents, and other small mammals are regular dishes on a large snakes' menu. But how do
they carry out the impressive feat of swallowing their prey whole? (Well let’s find out!)
The answer lies in the curious construction of the snake's jaws! When you look at how
impossibly wide the reptile opens its mouth, you would assume that either it's about to
dislocate its jaws or that the jaws are actually detachable. Both of these theories are nothing
but widespread myths. (A third theory that the snake’s been watching Games of Thrones
and got really, really bored and so starts to yawn has been discounted. Nobody gets bored
with Game of Thrones.) (Back to the jaws thing.) -You can open your mouth thanks to special
joints situated between your skull and your jaw. You may feel them if you touch the spots
below your ears and open and close your mouth a couple of times. But snakes have an extra
bone on each side between their skull and jaw. It’s these bones that allow them to
open their mouths much wider than we humans can.
- But wait, that's not all! Snakes' lower jaws are actually attached to their upper
ones with stretchy ligaments. This means that the jaws' right and left sides can move independently
of each other. - And finally, the snake's skin, as well as
the body itself, can stretch to unbelievable sizes! It has always confused me how snakes
don't suffocate while they’re swallowing their prey. But when I found the answer, it
was even more shocking than I imagined! When they’re eating, snakes push the glottis,
a breathing tube that leads to their lungs, out the side of their mouths! As a result,
they can breathe and eat at the same time. (Well, that’s handy!)
Interestingly, some snakes, namely, the common king snake, manage to dine on other snakes
that seriously exceed their own size! The thing is that the reptiles who are capable
of this trick are much stronger than the others. As a result, their constriction is 3 times
more powerful than is needed to stop the blood flow of their prey. But that's just one side
of the job. Let's say, a smaller snake has subdued its much longer prey, but now it has
to fit it in its belly somehow! And that's a really exhausting process. (They tell me.)
The smaller snake opens its mouth and starts to "walk" it over the prey by using its jaws
and sharp backward-curved teeth. On top of that, the snake compresses its body so that
it moves in a set of waves that make the snake longer and shorter, just like an accordion.
With all that work done, the longer snake gets safely packed inside the smaller one.
And then the latter just needs to wait for about 15 days to digest its prey.
(Well I think I’m about as “creeped out” as I can take for now, so…)
Do you know any other staggering facts about snakes? If so, share them with me in the comment
section below! (YEAH!) Remember to hit the like button, show this video to your friends,
and subscribe to the channel to move to the Bright Side of life!
