Was Vasuki Indicus bigger than Titanoboa?

For over two decades, Titanoboa held the crown as the largest snake ever discovered. The Colombian giant snake, found in 2002, was a record-breaker. But in 2024, paleontologists in India discovered something that challenged its status: fossils of a snake that might be bigger which was named Vasuki Indicus named after the snake king associated with the Hindu deity Shiva, as per Reuters. The question is simple but impossible to answer with complete certainty. Which snake was actually larger?


Titanoboa, known scientifically as Titanoboa cerrejonensis, roamed the Earth about 60 million years ago during the Paleocene epoch. Fossils indicate it reached lengths of 42 to 47 feet and weighed around 1,100 kilograms, roughly 2,500 pounds. It lived in tropical rainforests in what is now Colombia, cruising through swamps and hunting fish in semi-aquatic environments. For years, this was the undisputed champion of prehistoric serpents.


Then came Vasuki indicus. Discovered in a lignite mine in Gujarat, India, the newly identified ancient snake lived around 47 million years ago. Based on fossilized vertebrae, researchers estimate it stretched between 36 and 50 feet in length, which means at the upper end, it could actually be longer than Titanoboa.


But here's where things get complicated. When paleontologist Sunil Bajpai from the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee was asked directly whether Vasuki was bigger, his answer was basically "we don't really know." He told Reuters that while the estimated body length of Vasuki is comparable to Titanoboa's, "the vertebrae of Titanoboa are slightly larger than those of Vasuki. However, at this point, we cannot say if Vasuki was more massive or slender compared to Titanoboa."


Several reports say that Vasuki has the second-largest known vertebrae to Titanoboa, which actually gives Titanoboa a slight edge in the raw material. But vertebrae size doesn't necessarily tell the whole story about overall length or mass. A slender snake with smaller bones could potentially be longer than a thicker-bodied snake with larger vertebrae.


What makes this so difficult is that scientists don't have complete fossils to work with. They're comparing vertebrae sizes to modern snakes like anacondas and pythons, trying to extrapolate what the whole animal looked like. It works reasonably well, but there's always uncertainty.


The difference in lifestyle also matters. Titanoboa was primarily a fish-eater, adapted for semi-aquatic hunting in swampy environments. But Vasuki was likely more terrestrial, a slow-moving ambush predator that hunted catfish, turtles, crocodiles, and even primitive whales on land.


So which was bigger? The most honest answer is: Titanoboa probably wins on sheer mass. At roughly 2,500 pounds, it was heavier. But Vasuki might have been slightly longer, with the upper estimates reaching 49 to 50 feet compared to Titanoboa's 42 to 47 feet. It's a close call between two monsters that fundamentally redefine what "large" means.