''Gigantophis'' is an extinct genus represented by its sole member ''Gigantophis garstini'', a giant

snake Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more j ...

. Before the

Paleocene The Paleocene, ( ) or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name is a combination of the Ancient Greek ''pal ...

constrictor genus ''

Titanoboa ''Titanoboa'' (; ) is an extinct genus of very large snakes that lived in what is now La Guajira in northeastern Colombia. They could grow up to , perhaps even long and reach a body mass of . This snake lived during the Middle to Late Paleoc ...

'' was described from Colombia in 2009, ''Gigantophis garstini'' was regarded as the largest snake ever recorded. It lived about 40 million years ago during the

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...

epoch of the Paleogene Period, in the Paratethys Sea, within the northern Sahara, where

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

and

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

are now located.

Description

Size

Eunectes-murinus -Broghammerus-reticulatus- -Titanoboa-2

Jason Head, of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

, has compared

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

''Gigantophis garstini'' vertebrae to those of the largest modern snakes, and concluded that the extinct snake could grow from in length. If , it would have been more than 10% longer than its largest living relatives. Later estimates, based on

allometric Allometry is the study of the relationship of body size to shape, anatomy, physiology and finally behaviour, first outlined by Otto Snell in 1892, by D'Arcy Thompson in 1917 in ''On Growth and Form'' and by Julian Huxley in 1932. Overview Allome ...

equations scaled from the articular processes of tail vertebrae referred to ''Gigantophis garstini'', revised the length of ''Gigantophis garstini'' to .

Discovery

The species is known only from a small number of fossils, mostly

vertebra The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates, Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristi ...

e. Its discovery was published in 1901 by paleontologist

Charles William Andrews Charles William Andrews (30 October 1866 – 25 May 1924) F.R.S., was a British palaeontologist whose career as a vertebrate paleontologist, both as a curator and in the field, was spent in the services of the British Museum, Department of Ge ...

, who described it, estimated its length to be about 30 feet, and named it ''garstini'' in honor of Sir William Garstin, KCMG, the Under Secretary of State for Public Works in Egypt. In 2013, vertebrae collected in Pakistan were found to be similar to ''Gigantophis'' vertebrae collected in Egypt, but their exact affinities are uncertain.

Classification

''Gigantophis garstini'' is classified as a member of the extinct family

Madtsoiidae Madtsoiidae is an extinct family of mostly Gondwanan snakes with a fossil record extending from early Cenomanian ( Upper Cretaceous) to late Pleistocene strata located in South America, Africa, India, Australia and Southern Europe. Madts ...

References

Eocene snakes Eocene reptiles of Africa Fossil taxa described in 1901 Taxa named by Charles William Andrews {{paleo-snake-stub