A giant prehistoric snake longer than a school bus slithered around what is now India 47 million years ago, according to new research. The extinct snake may have been one of the largest to have ever lived, dwarfing present-day anacondas and pythons that can grow to about 6 meters. The colossal creature’s scientific name is Vasuki indicus, after the mythical serpent around the neck of Hindu deity Lord Shiva and the country of its discovery. The snake was likely a slow-moving, ambush predator that subdued its prey by constriction or squeezing them to death, according to the study. The report’s two authors, based at the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee in the state of Uttarakhand, analyzed 27 fossilized vertebrae — some still connected to one another — that were uncovered in 2005 at a coal mine in western India’s Gujarat state. Initially, the team thought the bones belonged to an ancient crocodile-like creature. It wasn’t until the researchers removed sediment from the fossils during the study’s initial stage in 2023 that they realized they “were looking at the remains of an exceptionally large snake,” the authors said. The vertebrae appeared to belong to a fully grown animal, the study said. “There are a number of possible reasons for its large size which range from favorable environment with ample food resources to lack of natural predators,” said coauthors Debajit Datta, a postdoctoral fellow, and Sunil Bajpai, a professor of paleontology. “Another driving force could be the prevalence of warmer climatic conditions than at present,” they said. Based on the size of the preserved vertebrae, the researchers estimated that the snake would have been 10.9 meters to 15.2 meters in length, based on two different calculation methods, with a broad and cylindrical body. The authors believe it lived on land rather than water, like an anaconda, but it was unlikely to have hung out in trees due to its size. The authors said that the body length estimates “should be treated with caution” because they didn’t have a complete skeleton. However, the snake would have rivaled the largest known snake species — the extinct Titanoboa — in size. Identified from fossils in Colombia, Titanoboa would have weighed 1,140 kilograms and measured 13 meters from nose to tail tip. Snakes are cold-blooded and need heat from the environment to survive. Their size, therefore, depends on how warm the climate is. “Their internal body temperature fluctuates with the ambient temperature of the environment,” the authors said. “So, higher ambient temperatures would have increased the internal body temperature and metabolic rate of Vasuki which in turn would have allowed it to grow so large.” (SD-Agencies) Words to Learn 相關詞匯 【巨大的】jùdà de colossal extremely large 【相媲美】xiāng pìměi rival be as good, clever, beautiful, etc. as someone or something else 新研究發現，4700萬年前的印度地區曾生活過比校車還長的史前巨蛇。 這種已經滅絕的蛇可能是史上體型最大的蛇之一，與之相比能長到6米左右的蟒蛇和巨蟒簡直微不足道。這種巨蛇的學名是印度婆蘇吉，源自濕婆神脖子上的大蛇以及它的國度。 研究稱，這種蛇可能行動緩慢，在隱蔽處伏擊，通過纏繞擠壓讓獵物窒息。 研究報告的兩位作者來自北阿坎德邦的印度羅爾基理工學院，他們分析了2005年在印度西部古吉拉特邦的一個煤礦中發現的27塊椎骨化石，其中一些椎骨仍彼此相連。 最初，研究小組認為骨骼屬于一種類似鱷魚的遠古生物。研究始于2023年，研究人員清除了化石上的沉積物后忽然意識到“這是一條巨蛇的遺骸”。 研究報告說，這些椎骨的主人已成年。報告合著者是博士后研究員德巴吉特?達塔和古生物學教授蘇尼爾?巴杰帕伊。他們說：“它之所以體型龐大，可能有多種原因，比如有利的環境和充足的食物、以及缺乏天敵。另一個原因可能是那時氣候普遍比現在溫暖。” 根據保存下來的脊椎骨的大小，研究人員按照兩種不同口徑估算，這種蛇的體長應該在10.9米到15.2米之間，身體呈寬大的圓柱形。 研究人員認為它像蟒蛇一樣生活在陸地上，而不是在水里，由于體型巨大它也不太可能在樹上活動。 作者說，由于沒有完整的骨架，因此“應該謹慎看待”估算的體長。不過，這種蛇的體型可與已知最大的蛇 —— 已滅絕的泰坦巨蟒 —— 相媲美。 根據哥倫比亞發掘的化石推算，泰坦巨蟒重1140千克，從鼻尖到尾尖長13米。 蛇是冷血動物，需要生存在溫暖的環境中，因此它們的體型大小取決于氣候的溫暖程度。 作者說：“它們的體溫隨著環境溫度的變化而波動。因此，較高的環境溫度會讓婆蘇吉蛇的體溫升高、新陳代謝加快，讓它能長得如此巨大。”(Translated by Debra) | 