Snakes on a Plane? Try 'as Big as a Plane'

frigidmagi · Post by **frigidmagi** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 4:54 pm

Newsweek

[quote]The discovery of a 60-million-years-old fossil snake from northeastern Colombia, South America, whose size makes todayâ€™s anacondas and pythons seem like garter snakes is being hailed for the light it sheds on ancient climates, but letâ€™s be honest here: the attention itâ€™s getting has more to do with its mammoth measurements. At 13 meters (42.7 feet) from nose to tail, tipping the scales at an estimated 1,135 kilograms (2,500 pounds) and with a girth that would reach the hips of a grown man who had the misfortune to be around when the snake was slithering by, Titanoboa cerrejonensis (itâ€™s from the Greek titan, for giant) was the largest snake the world has ever seen.

To support a cold-blooded body of that size, estimate scientists led by paleobotanist Carlos Jaramillo of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and paleontologist Jason Head of the University of Toronto, its tropical home would have had to have a minimum mean annual temperature of 30 to 34 degrees Celsius (86 to 93 degrees Fahrenheit), way hotter than todayâ€™s tropics. That calls into question the longstanding belief that the planet has a thermostat that keeps tropical temps in check. As they describe in tomorrowâ€™s issue of Nature, it has long been known that there is a rough correlation between an eraâ€™s temperature and the size of its cold-blooded animals: warmer temps, bigger beasts. But the average temperature at which the giant snake thrived was 5 degrees warmer than the maximum for tropical rainforests today.
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If tropical temps 60 million years ago were really that high, it undercuts the idea that the planet has a thermostat that keeps a tight lid on them. Thatâ€™s important for three reasons, climatologist Matthew Huber of Purdue University points out in an accompanying article. The tropics, from 30Â° N to 30Â° S, make up half of Earthâ€™s surface area and therefore strongly influence the sensitivity of global temperatures to greenhouse-gas concentrations and other climate-altering forcing. Also, the tropics have long been considered â€œstable, safe havens for fauna and flora compared with the more variable high latitudes,â€

Derek Thunder · Post by **Derek Thunder** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 7:27 pm

*furiously writes script for Sci-fi channel original movie*

The news about the lack of guard rails on climate is kind of troubling though.

frigidmagi · Post by **frigidmagi** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 7:33 pm

*furiously writes script for Sci-fi channel original movie*

I think they already did a giant snake movie.

Derek Thunder · Post by **Derek Thunder** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 7:36 pm

It might have been about a 'giant' snake, but not a GIANT snake. The market of horror B-movies isn't so crowded that it cannot accommodate today's exotherm-on-the-go.

rhoenix · Post by **rhoenix** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 7:37 pm

We've seen Snakes On A Plane.

Now, we need to see Snake Eats Plane.

Charon · Post by **Charon** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 7:40 pm

In Soviet Russia, Plane on Snake!

Derek Thunder · Post by **Derek Thunder** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 7:41 pm

Like... It's 8am at a busy subway station in New York City, there are lots of people standing at the edge of the tracks waiting for the train. They hear what sounds like a train approaching, but it's...

A snake the size of a train!

It comes to a stop, rears its head, then swallows everyone standing at the station.

LadyTevar · Post by **LadyTevar** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 8:32 pm

Derek Thunder wrote:Like... It's 8am at a busy subway station in New York City, there are lots of people standing at the edge of the tracks waiting for the train. They hear what sounds like a train approaching, but it's...

A snake the size of a train!

It comes to a stop, rears its head, then swallows everyone standing at the station.

Digimon did that.

Post by **Dark Silver** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 9:53 pm

did they?

I musta missed that episode...

LadyTevar · Post by **LadyTevar** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 10:28 pm

It was the Digimon Tamers season... one of the Zodiac monsters was a huge cobra that was haunting the subway.

The Cleric · Post by **The Cleric** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 11:55 pm

And you know this... how?

LadyTevar · Post by **LadyTevar** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 10:10 pm

The Cleric wrote:And you know this... how?

I watch digimon.

The Cleric · Post by **The Cleric** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 2:55 am

LadyTevar wrote:
The Cleric wrote:And you know this... how?
I watch digimon.

*backs away slowly*

Comrade Tortoise · Post by **Comrade Tortoise** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 4:10 pm

The Cleric wrote:
LadyTevar wrote:
The Cleric wrote:And you know this... how?
I watch digimon.
*backs away slowly*

Now now, that is uncalled for I was thinking the same thing...

As for the snake... All I have to say is that the thought of the snake makes me need to change my shorts.

The Minx · Post by **The Minx** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 4:21 pm

The Cleric wrote:
LadyTevar wrote:
The Cleric wrote:And you know this... how?
I watch digimon.
*backs away slowly*

Omnipotent Overlord apparently does too, so better be careful, there.

OT: that snake must have taken a hell of a long time getting up in the morning.

LadyTevar · Post by **LadyTevar** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 10:55 pm

Comrade Tortoise wrote:
The Cleric wrote:
LadyTevar wrote:I watch digimon.
*backs away slowly*
Now now, that is uncalled for I was thinking the same thing...

As for the snake... All I have to say is that the thought of the snake makes me need to change my shorts.

Yeah, and it's not shit in those shorts either, you snake-lover.

LadyTevar · Post by **LadyTevar** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 10:56 pm

The Minx wrote:
The Cleric wrote:
LadyTevar wrote:I watch digimon.
*backs away slowly*
Omnipotent Overlord apparently does too, so better be careful, there.

OT: that snake must have taken a hell of a long time getting up in the morning.

If the temps are as warm as they say, probably only as long as the average anaconda takes to get going.

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Snakes on a Plane? Try 'as Big as a Plane'

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