QUOTE (talamz @ Feb 5 2009, 12:30 PM)
Stunned scientists have found the fossilised remains of the world's greatest snake -- a record-busting serpent that was as long as a bus and snacked on crocodiles.
The boa-like behemoth, dubbed Titanoboa, ruled the tropical rainforests of what is now Colombia some 60 million years ago, at a time when the world was far hotter than now, they report in a study .
The size of the snake's vertebrae suggest the beast weighed some 1.135 tonnes, in a range of 730 kilos (1,600 pounds) to 2.03 tonnes.
And it measured 13 metres (42.7 feet) from nose to tail, in a range of 10.64-15 metres (34.6-48.75 feet), they estimate.
"The discovery of Titanoboa challenges our understanding of past climates and environments, as well as the biological limitations on the evolution of giant snakes," said Jason Head, member of the Panama-based research institute and lead author of the study to be published in Nature magazine.
"This shows how much more information about the history of Earth there is to glean from a resource like the reptile fossil record," said the assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Toronto Mississauga.
From the size of the 1.14-tonne Titanoboa, scientists have estimated the average annual temperature in the tropical jungle it inhabited 60 million years ago at 30-34 degrees Celsius (86-93 degrees Farenheit).
"This temperature estimate is much hotter than modern temperatures in tropical rainforests anywhere in the world," said Carlos Jaramillo, Smithsonian staff scientist and co-organizer of the excavations in Colombia.
"That means that tropical rainforests could exist at temperatures 3-4 degrees Celsius hotter than modern tropical rainforests experience," he added, alluding to scientific theories that would have tropical forests disappear if global warming boosts temperatures by that measure in the future.
Jonathan Block, a vertebrate palaeontologist at the University of Florida, who co-led the work said "Truly enormous snakes really spark people's imagination, but reality has exceeded the fantasies of Hollywood."
"The snake that tried to eat Jennifer Lopez in the movie 'Anaconda' is not as big as the one we found."
"At its greatest width, the snake would have come up to about your hips," said David Polly, a geologist at the University of Indiana at Bloomington.
The investigators found the remains of the new species at an unlikely location -- at one of the world's biggest open-cast coalmines, in Cerrejon, Colombia, where giant machines had obligingly gnawed away surface layers of dirt.
Working as huge coal-laden trucks thundered by, the team sifted through the earth, laying bare the remains of supersized snakes and their likely prey -- extinct species of crocodiles and giant turtles -- and evidence that a massive rainforest once covered the ground.
"The giant Colombian snake is a truly exciting discovery. For years, herpetologists have argued about just how big snakes can get, with debatable estimates of the max somewhere less than 40 feet" (12.3 metres), said leading snake expert Harry Greene of Cornell University, New York.
Titanoboa cerrejonensis -- whose Latin name honours the coal mine -- is not only a source of jaw-dropping wonder.
It is also a useful indicator as to the world's climate after the dinosaurs were wiped out some 65 million years ago, the team say.
Unlike mammals, reptiles cannot regulate their own temperature.
As a result, they are limited in body size by the ambient temperature of where they live. For example, reptiles today are bigger in the tropics than they are in cooler latitudes.
Based on T. cerrejonensis, the scientists calculate that the mean annual temperature in equatorial South America 60 million years ago would have been 30-34 degrees Celsius, or 86-93 degrees Fahrenheit.
That makes it around 3-4 C (5.5-7.2 F) hotter than tropical rainforests today.
If so, this is a welcome piece of news about climate change.
Simulations about global warming suggest that, on present trends, the world's surface temperatures could rise by between 1.8-4.0 C (3.2-7.2 F) by 2100.
If the supersnakes are a guide, tropical rain forests could still exist at such temperatures, although a fast, massive rise in warming could well be devastating to many species.
The paper is published by the British-based weekly science journal Nature.
The world's longest snake today is the Asian reticulated python, specimens of which can grow around 10 metres (32.5 feet), and the biggest in terms of mass is the green anaconda, with some specimens weighing 227 kilos (550 pounds).
SUMBER :
Klik Disini+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Tertegun ilmuwan telah menemukan sisa-sisa fosil terbesar di dunia ular - catatan-penghilang ular yang selama bus dan mengudap buaya.
Ular-seperti raksasa, yang dijuluki Titanoboa, menguasai hutan hujan tropis yang kini Kolombia sekitar 60 juta tahun yang lalu, pada saat dunia itu jauh lebih panas daripada sekarang, mereka melaporkan dalam studi.
Ukuran vertebra ular binatang menyarankan menimbang beberapa 1,135 ton, dalam kisaran 730 kilogram (1.600 pon) untuk 2,03 ton.Dan itu diukur 13 meter (42,7 kaki) dari hidung ke ekor, dalam berbagai 10,64-15 meter (34,6-48,75 kaki), mereka perkirakan.
"Penemuan tantangan Titanoboa pemahaman kita mengenai iklim masa lalu dan lingkungan, serta pembatasan biologis evolusi ular raksasa," kata Jason Kepala, anggota Panama lembaga penelitian berbasis dan penulis utama dari studi yang akan diterbitkan dalam majalah Nature.
"Hal ini menunjukkan berapa banyak informasi lebih lanjut tentang sejarah Bumi ada memungut dari sumber daya seperti reptil catatan fosil," kata asisten profesor ekologi dan biologi evolusi di University of Toronto Mississauga.
Dari ukuran 1,14 ton Titanoboa, para ilmuwan telah memperkirakan rata-rata suhu tahunan di hutan tropis itu dihuni 60 juta tahun yang lalu di 30-34 derajat Celsius (86-93 derajat Fahrenheit).
"Ini perkiraan suhu jauh lebih panas daripada suhu modern di hutan hujan tropis di mana pun di dunia," kata Carlos Jaramillo, staf Smithsonian ilmuwan dan co-penyelenggara penggalian di Kolombia.
"Itu berarti bahwa hutan hujan tropis bisa ada pada suhu 3-4 derajat Celcius lebih panas dari pengalaman hutan hujan tropis modern," tambahnya, mengacu pada teori-teori ilmiah bahwa hutan tropis akan hilang jika pemanasan global yang meningkatkan suhu dengan ukuran di masa depan.
Jonathan Block, seorang Ahli paleontologi vertebrata di University of Florida, yang ikut memimpin kata kerja "Sesungguhnya ular besar orang-orang yang benar-benar memicu imajinasi, tapi kenyataan telah melebihi fantasi Hollywood."
"Ular yang mencoba makan Jennifer Lopez dalam film 'Anaconda' tidak lebih besar dari yang kita temukan."
"Pada lebar terbesar, ular itu telah naik sampai ke tentang pinggul," kata David Polly, seorang ahli geologi di University of Indiana di Bloomington.
Para peneliti menemukan sisa-sisa spesies baru di lokasi yang tidak mungkin - di salah satu terbesar di dunia open-cast coalmines, di Cerrejón, Kolombia, di mana mesin-mesin raksasa telah patuh pergi menggerogoti lapisan permukaan tanah.
Bekerja sebagai besar truk bermuatan batu bara-menggelegar oleh, tim disaring melalui bumi, telanjang meletakkan sisa-sisa SUPERSIZED ular dan kemungkinan mereka mangsa - spesies punah buaya dan kura-kura raksasa - dan bukti bahwa hutan besar-besaran pernah menutupi tanah.
"Kolombia raksasa ular adalah penemuan yang benar-benar menarik. Selama bertahun-tahun, herpetologis telah berpendapat tentang bagaimana bisa mendapatkan ular besar, dengan perkiraan diperdebatkan di suatu tempat maks kurang dari 40 meter" (12,3 meter), kata pakar ular terkemuka Harry Greene dari Cornell University, New York.
Titanoboa cerrejonensis - yang nama Latin kehormatan tambang batu bara - tidak hanya sumber menjatuhkan rahang-heran.
Ini juga merupakan indikator yang berguna untuk iklim dunia setelah dinosaurus musnah sekitar 65 juta tahun yang lalu, tim katakan.
Tidak seperti mamalia, reptil tidak dapat mengatur suhu mereka sendiri.
Sebagai hasilnya, mereka terbatas dalam ukuran tubuh dengan suhu lingkungan di mana mereka tinggal. Sebagai contoh, reptil saat ini lebih besar di daerah tropis daripada di lintang dingin.
Berdasarkan T. cerrejonensis, para ilmuwan menghitung bahwa rata-rata suhu tahunan di khatulistiwa Amerika Selatan 60 juta tahun yang lalu akan menjadi 30-34 derajat Celsius, atau 86-93 derajat Fahrenheit.
Yang membuat sekitar 3-4 C (5,5-7,2 F) lebih panas daripada hutan hujan tropis hari ini.
Jika demikian, ini adalah sepotong menyambut berita tentang perubahan iklim.
Simulasi tentang pemanasan global menunjukkan bahwa, pada saat tren, dunia bisa suhu permukaan meningkat antara 1,8-4,0 C (3,2-7,2 F) by 2100.
Jika supersnakes adalah panduan, hutan hujan tropis masih bisa berada pada suhu tersebut, meskipun yang cepat, kenaikan besar pemanasan bisa saja menghancurkan banyak spesies.
Makalah ini diterbitkan oleh British berbasis mingguan jurnal ilmiah Nature.
Terpanjang di dunia ular Asia hari ini adalah Reticulated python, spesimen yang dapat tumbuh sekitar 10 meter (32,5 kaki), dan terbesar dalam hal massa adalah anaconda hijau, dengan beberapa spesimen dengan berat 227 kilo (550 pon).
peace 
