Colossal prehistoric snake discovered in India

Fossils unearthed in India revealed a prehistoric snake that may have been one of the longest to have ever lived, according to a new study.

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 (20 feet). 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, which appeared Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports. 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.