TitanoboaĀ is an extinct genus of snakes that is known to have lived in present-day La Guajira in northern Colombia. The giant snake lived during the Middle to Late Paleocene epoch, a 10-million-year period immediately following the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event.Ā
The only known species is Titanoboa cerrejonensis, the largest snake ever discovered. By comparing the sizes and shapes of its fossilized vertebrae to those of extant snakes, researchers estimated that the largest individuals of T. cerrejonensis found had a total length around 42 feet and weighed about 2,500 pounds.Ā
While initially thought to have been an apex predator of the Paleocene ecosystem in which it lived, evidence has pointed to the genus being predominantly piscivorous.Ā Titanoboaās massive size would have made it difficult to move on land, so the giant snake would probably have spent most of its life in the water, hunting for fish and other aquatic prey.