A new study has been published Scientific Reports, suggests that it is named after a recently discovered ancient snake species Vasuki IndicusIt may be one of the largest snakes in the world. This species, which lived in Gujarat, India, about 47 million years ago, reached 11 to 15 meters (36 to 49 feet) tall. Belonging to the extinct family madtsoiidae, Vasuki Indicus represents a unique lineage originating from India.

Debajit Datta and Sunil Bajpai describe a new sample from the Panandro lignite mine in Kutch, Gujarat, India, dated to the Middle Eocene Period, approximately 47 million years ago. A new species has been named Vasuki Indicus In honor of the legendary snake around the neck of the Hindu god Shiva and in reference to India, the country where it was discovered. The authors describe 27 mostly well-preserved vertebrae, some articulated, that appear to come from a fully developed animal.

Size estimation and ecological role

The length of the spine varies from 37.5 to 62.7 millimeters and its width from 62.4 to 111.4 millimeters; This indicates a large cylindrical body. The authors extrapolate this to predict that: V. indicus Its length could reach 10.9 to 15.2 meters. Its size is comparable to the extinct snake, the longest known snake. Titanoboa, but the authors emphasize the uncertainty of these estimates. They also assume large sizes. V. indicus turning it into a slow, anaconda-like ambush predator.

Authors define V. indicus It is thought to belong to the family madtsoiidae, which existed for approximately 100 million years from the Late Cretaceous to the Late Pleistocene and lived in a wide geographical range including Africa, Europe and India. They assume so. V. indicus It represents a lineage of large madzoids that arose in the Indian subcontinent, approximately 56-34 million years ago, and spread from southern Europe to Africa in the Eocene.