The world’s largest snake has recently been discovered in the Amazon rainforest. This new species of northern green anaconda (Eunectes akiyama) differs by as much as 5.5 percent from the southern green anaconda. Introduction The discovery was made by Prof. Freek J. Vonk, who, in the footage, was seen swimming nonchalantly alongside the largest snake ...
For the longest time, it has been assumed that Elapoidea snakes originated from Africa, based on the discovery of a 25 million-year-old fossil. Recent genetic research tells us something quite different, though – it tells us that this group of snakes, in fact, originated in Asia 35 million years ago. Initially, the gap between 25 ...
This exciting fossil finding really does prove that size doesn’t matter. A tiny piece of amber, not much larger than a pebble, holds the oldest baby snake fossil ever found. And when we say old we mean really, really, really old – estimates state that this tiny snake lived on Earth 99 million years ago. ...
In 1976, four snake fossils were discovered huddled together in the White River Formation, Wyoming. These perfectly preserved 38 million-year-old fossils’ identity remained a mystery until scientists made use of newer technology to identify them as a new species, Hibernophis breithaupti. Its discovery gives insights into the social behavior of snakes and helps fill some ...
Ancient reptiles are full of fascinating creatures, but few could leave you feeling as if you wouldn’t want to dangle a toe in the ocean, like the Palaeophis colossaeus. Fortunately for us, we don’t have to worry about that today, as this enormous marine reptile roamed prehistoric oceans millions upon millions of years ago. Let’s ...
Discovering a new species is exciting, but why name a newly discovered snake after Leonardo DiCaprio? Well, it just so happens that Indian scientists after discovering a new snake in the Western Himalaya, decided to name it after the Titanic movie star for his contribution to wildlife conservation. The discovery of the new snake named ...
