Giant boid snake from the Palaeocene neotropics reveals hotter past equatorial temperatures

Jason J. Head (), Jonathan I. Bloch, Alexander K. Hastings, Jason R. Bourque, Edwin A. Cadena, Fabiany A. Herrera, P. David Polly and Carlos A. Jaramillo
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Jason J. Head: University of Toronto, Mississauga, Ontario L5L 1C6, Canada
Jonathan I. Bloch: Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611-7800, USA
Alexander K. Hastings: Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611-7800, USA
Jason R. Bourque: Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611-7800, USA
Edwin A. Cadena: Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611-7800, USA
Fabiany A. Herrera: Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611-7800, USA
P. David Polly: Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405-1405, USA
Carlos A. Jaramillo: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Box 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon Republic of Panama

Nature, 2009, vol. 457, issue 7230, 715-717

Abstract: It's a long story The discovery of the world's largest known snake — living around 60 million years ago in tropical South America — has important implications for our understanding of the evolution of global climate. The fossil, found in northeastern Columbia — is of a relative of the boa constrictor; it was 13 metres long (compared to about 10 metres for the longest live snakes reported) and would have weighed more than a tonne. A snake this size would have required mean annual temperatures between 30 and 34 ° C, higher than the tropics today. This calls into question the idea that the climate system has a 'thermostat' that regulates tropical temperatures.

Date: 2009
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DOI: 10.1038/nature07671

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