Just recently, scientists dug up the remains of a snake called Titanoboa cerrejonensis in Columbia. This clearly was not a normal snake. From the size of the bones found, the scientists were able to conclude that the snake would have been 13 meters long, weighed 2500 pounds, and at the thickest part of its body, it would have come up to about the average man's waist. It is believed that the snake lived about 58-60 million years ago when the earth was much warmer, roughly 33 degrees celsius on average.
To the right is an artist's impression of what the snake would've looked like.
Last week, the World Wildlife Fund released a report saying that parts of Vietnam and five other countries, is home to 1068 previously unknown wildlife species, including mammals, plants lizards and fish. The report has a timeframe of discoveries made from 1997 to 2007. Currently, the WWF averages two new discoveries a week. One such discovery is a lizard known as cyrtodactylus phongnhakebangensis, which has a brown body with a bright yellow tail for the most part, and white at the tip of the tail. It was discovered in 2002. Another discovery is an odd millipede, discovered in Thailand in 2007. It is bright pink and produces hydrogen cyanide for protection. Not all the discoveries made were absolutely new. Some of them are considered to be 'rediscovered', especially the Laotion Rock Rat, also known as Laonastes aenigmamus, which is a living fossil, thought to have been extinct for 11 million years. Oddly enough, it was spotted at a food market. In the report a total of 519 plants, 279 fish, 88 frogs, 88 spiders, 46 lizards, 22 snakes, 15 mammals, four birds, four turtles, two salamanders and a toad were found. Below are some pictures and footages of the wildlife.
