Why did it have to be snakes!?!

[Neon Knight]

Scientists have found the fossil of a 43 foot long (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-sci-snake5-2009feb05,0,6550292.story), 2,500 pound (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090204112217.htm) snake in South America.

In other news, Harrison Ford has decided to never ever go to South America.

[UncleWolf]

Awesome!:smallbiggrin:

[Kaelaroth]

That's both worrying, and remarkably intriguing.
Oh, and cool.

[Dirk Kris]

Indy ain't no be-yotch! He'll be in South America, alright, filming "Indiana Jones and the Geriatric Gold!"

[Fredthefighter]

Indy ain't no be-yotch! He'll be in South America, alright, filming "Indiana Jones and the Geriatric Gold!"

Yep, Indianna Jones in a wheelchair fighting snakes with a walking stick.

[Dave Rapp]

"Based on the snake's size, the team was able to calculate that the mean annual temperature at equatorial South America 60 million years ago would have been about 91 degrees Fahrenheit, about 10 degrees warmer than today, Bloch said."

They can calculate temperatures from 60 million years ago based on a single skeleton.

Science is just plain AWESOME.

[Recaiden]

That's awesome. Why don't we have snakes like that anymore?:smallfrown:

[Jack Squat]

That's awesome. Why don't we have snakes like that anymore?:smallfrown:

We do (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckscMng3L4w)

[Teela-Y]

Well, I wonder how it will breed. Its species may not be around for long, unless there are big snakes like it as well. >_>

[Jack Squat]

The largest snake species appears to be common anacondas(Eunectes murinus), and while their average length seems to be about 20 feet, with 27 being rare, there are reports of them being in the 40 foot range.

There's also been an apparant capture of a 49 foot, 483 lb. python in Indonesia in 2004. Can't find a follow up to whether or not it's true.

The larger snakes are really more of mutants than their own species, perhaps the same is true for this fossil.

[UncleWolf]

The largest snake species appears to be common anacondas(Eunectes murinus), and while their average length seems to be about 20 feet, with 27 being rare, there are reports of them being in the 40 foot range.

There's also been an apparant capture of a 49 foot, 483 lb. python in Indonesia in 2004. Can't find a follow up to whether or not it's true.

The larger snakes are really more of mutants than their own species, perhaps the same is true for this fossil.

The thing about most reptiles is that they grow to be about as large as their environment can sustain their size. Most don't even have definite life spans in the wilderness. The reports of snakes that are over 30 feet could be about snakes over 50-60 years old and we wouldn't know. They mostly die from disease and predators.

There have been reports of Galapagos Tortoises living to be over 100 years old. Who says snakes can't?

[Ms.Malbolge]

And now that I know this snake existed I am going to go hide under my bed.

Forever.

[UncleWolf]

And now that I know this snake existed I am going to go hide under my bed.

Forever.

You can hide under mine. I have a penthouse under it.

[Ms.Malbolge]

Eww... Wet dog smell!
:smalltongue:

And so I don't derail the thread. The thought of that thing, to me at least, both makes me giddy (I like snakes) and insanely glad it's extinct... Since it can y'know, eat me alive.

[Canadian]

It would be cooler if the snakes were on a plane.

[TRM]

I had hoped that the snake would still be extant, I'm slightly disappointed.

Sigh, I guess I'll have to be content with an amazing paleontological and herpetological (why isn't that a word?) find.

edit:

There's also been an apparant capture of a 49 foot, 483 lb. python in Indonesia in 2004. Can't find a follow up to whether or not it's true.

Even if that is true, the python weights 2000 pounds less than this new giant snake—that's going to make a difference in what it can eat.

[Krytha]

Yep, Indianna Jones in a wheelchair fighting snakes with a walking stick.

With the obligatory gag where he misplaces his glasses and mistakes a snake for his walking stick and fends off snakes with his reptilian simulacrum.

[_Zoot_]

This is why humans made nukes, to fight the giant snakes in an epic battle to decide the fate of the world!

I'm really glad that that battle doesn’t have to be fort coz the thing is dead, but still.....

[Fredthefighter]

With the obligatory gag where he misplaces his glasses and mistakes a snake for his walking stick and fends off snakes with his reptilian simulacrum.

That would be so cool.
Indiana Jones and the snakes of giant-ness.

[Dallas-Dakota]

It's a basilisk!

[Comet]

Thats one impressive snake.
I bet I could beat it, though. In my dreams.

Also, I can't wait till they find some means of cloning that guy and start mass-producing giant snakes to fight for the US army. It will be glorious. :smallbiggrin:

[amuletts]

Wow, just... wow. :smalleek:

[Fredthefighter]

Thats one impressive snake.
I bet I could beat it, though. In my dreams.

Also, I can't wait till they find some means of cloning that guy and start mass-producing giant snakes to fight for the US army. It will be glorious. :smallbiggrin:

Yes it would be, only we British would have giant mongooses ready to counteract the snakes if we needed to.

[InaVegt]

And we'll have our ten meter long lions ready.

[Fredthefighter]

And we'll have our ten meter long lions ready.

Never one to be outdone are you?
Fine, King Kong and Godzilla owe us some favours, we can get them in if need be.

[Trog]

I vote they name it Huggy

[Moff Chumley]

I vote they name it Huggy

+1'd, and as long as we Northern Califronians get our gigantic walking trees with lasers, I'm cool with the rest of you having giant snakes. :smallwink:

[chiasaur11]

Never one to be outdone are you?
Fine, King Kong and Godzilla owe us some favours, we can get them in if need be.

Yeah. Godzilla owes us his very existence. If he doesn't give a little Quid Pro Quo in the inevitable monster wars...

We make another American Godzilla movie. He'll play ball.

[Collin152]

It's the Jörmungandr! The Midgard Serpent!
Thank Odin that Thor was around to save us. Many, many years before the first man was alive to be saved.

[unstattedCommoner]

All we need now is fossil evidence of a 100-foot tall Austin Stevens.

[Trog]

+1'd, and as long as we Northern Califronians get our gigantic walking trees with lasers, I'm cool with the rest of you having giant snakes. :smallwink:

... :smalleek:

*gets the feeling dwarves steer clear of Northern CA.*

[Serpentine]

Ah yes, I saw this! :biggrin: Didn't see whether it mentions it in the linked articles, but the one I read mentioned that it's even bigger than the grossly oversized one/s in Anaconda. Sooooooo cool!

[chiasaur11]

All we need now is fossil evidence of a 100-foot tall Austin Stevens.

No evidence of that, but a fossil of a primitive mammal poking it and some primitive variants of the phrase "CRIKEY!" have been found near the snake.

[Canadian]

He who controls the spice controls the universe!