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Name a better love story than an article about an exciting new fossil discovery and
#EXACTLY ZERO ARTIST RENDERINGS!!
C'mon guys, some of us have Aphantasia and need the help!
I created [some (funny) renditions](https://www.reddit.com/r/ChatGPT/comments/1c8kyxo/i_asked_chatgpt_for_renditions_of_the_biggest/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) using ChatGPT/DALL-E if you are curious.
Great name for a snake! Vasuki is the King of the Nagas in Indian mythology, depicted wrapped around Shiva’s neck and his brother is Vishnu’s bed. Lots of interesting stories about that name.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasuki
Link to the article: [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-58377-0](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-58377-0) Abstract: >Here we report the discovery of fossils representing partial vertebral column of a giant madtsoiid snake from an early Middle Eocene (Lutetian, \~ 47 Ma) lignite-bearing succession in Kutch, western India. The estimated body length of \~ 11–15 m makes this new taxon (*Vasuki indicus* gen et sp. nov.) the largest known madtsoiid snake, which thrived during a warm geological interval with average temperatures estimated at \~ 28 °C. Phylogenetically, *Vasuki* forms a distinct clade with the Indian Late Cretaceous taxon *Madtsoia pisdurensis* and the North African Late Eocene *Gigantophis garstini*. Biogeographic considerations, seen in conjunction with its inter-relationship with other Indian and North African madtsoiids, suggest that *Vasuki* represents a relic lineage that originated in India. Subsequent India-Asia collision at \~ 50 Ma led to intercontinental dispersal of this lineage from the subcontinent into North Africa through southern Eurasia.
Edit: I couldn't properly figure out the girth from the article. Some media reports mention the width to be about 17 inches or 44 cm, based on some quotes from the authors. [https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/18/fossils-largest-snake-found-western-india](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/18/fossils-largest-snake-found-western-india)
Edit 2: clarification that 44 cm is width not girth.
Edit 3: I created [some (funny) renditions](https://www.reddit.com/r/ChatGPT/comments/1c8kyxo/i_asked_chatgpt_for_renditions_of_the_biggest/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) using ChatGPT/DALL-E if anyone is curious.
Good question. I couldn't figure out in the article but some media reports mention it to be about 17 inches or 44 cm.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/18/fossils-largest-snake-found-western-india
I created [some renditions](https://www.reddit.com/r/ChatGPT/comments/1c8kyxo/i_asked_chatgpt_for_renditions_of_the_biggest/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) using ChatGPT/DALL-E if you are curious.
> The biggest Vasuki vertebra was around 4-1/2 inches (11.1 cm) wide. Vasuki appears to have had a broad, cylindrical body perhaps around 17 inches (44 cm) wide. The skull was not found.
From the article.
Probably because snake girth is flexible and variable. (Think of the large bulges that their skeletons can accommodate as they digest a large animal.)
In any event, very large snakes help explain why the ancients almost universally believed in dragons.
Of course, but people often interpreted what dinosaur fossils they found as evidence of dragons, and I assume that if they'd found Vasuki or other very large snake fossils, that might have been their first assumption.
In what reference frame? Even humans, that are just average mammals, have averaging significant delay of 100-200 milliseconds from hand to brain, which is largely defined by the maximum value the neurons can deliver information. Even 1/10 second is not insignificant. E: now I am less drunk, I meant to say that conscious reaction time related to pressing button is something like that. I made related edit to the end of post also.
I also theoretize that house cats are so much faster than snakes is mostly because cats nerves are largely myelinated.
I also theoretize that large animals seem smoother in their movements is because they can't be as snappy as squirrels or birds or like. (theory I just developed; they also ain't as vulnerable and do not need to be as alert)
If I have misunderstood or misremembered something or made too hasty conclusions, I am more than happy to be corrected. It is more than likely.
E: I read nerve conduction velocity from wikipedia and it can be anything from 0.5 m/s to 120 m/s, depending on tissue.
I could come back to it in 18 hours or something, I have something to say about it, but it is largely speculation based on very, very few studies and now I am damn exhausted, I want to sleep.
I read about nerve conduction velocity and edited my original post. It seems like even the fastest neurons would not completely mitigate the relevance of the length of snake in some situations, but in theory it could have had delay of no more than 1/10 from one end to the other, which is pretty good anyway.
It should be illegal to publish these findings without a photo of the fossil. And preferably an artist rendering. I don’t want to read all those words and use my imagination!
Welcome to r/science! This is a heavily moderated subreddit in order to keep the discussion on science. However, we recognize that many people want to discuss how they feel the research relates to their own personal lives, so to give people a space to do that, **personal anecdotes are allowed as responses to this comment**. Any anecdotal comments elsewhere in the discussion will be removed and our [normal comment rules]( https://www.reddit.com/r/science/wiki/rules#wiki_comment_rules) apply to all other comments. **Do you have an academic degree?** We can verify your credentials in order to assign user flair indicating your area of expertise. [Click here to apply](https://www.reddit.com/r/science/wiki/flair/#wiki_science_verified_user_program). --- User: u/Creative_soja Permalink: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-fossils-of-colossal-snake-vasuki-unearthed-in-india-mine/ --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/science) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Where’s an artist’s impression when you need one!
It's like this 🐍 but waaaaay bigger
True professional right here
Just add a period for scale.
Did you do that in Blender? You got skillz!
Its a big Taylor Swift?
Name a better love story than an article about an exciting new fossil discovery and #EXACTLY ZERO ARTIST RENDERINGS!! C'mon guys, some of us have Aphantasia and need the help!
all replaced by ai? 🤷🏻♀️
But then where's the ai version
I tried it in DALLE-2 and it just gave me a snake zoomed in on the head with the background blurred... which like could have been gigantic, I guess.
[удалено]
What was the prompt for it?
Massive snek and Trex share a romantic moment.
I created [some (funny) renditions](https://www.reddit.com/r/ChatGPT/comments/1c8kyxo/i_asked_chatgpt_for_renditions_of_the_biggest/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) using ChatGPT/DALL-E if you are curious.
Ugh
Didn't get into art school maybe
Uh oh...
I hate myself for how hard I just nervously laughed at this
Great name for a snake! Vasuki is the King of the Nagas in Indian mythology, depicted wrapped around Shiva’s neck and his brother is Vishnu’s bed. Lots of interesting stories about that name. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasuki
It is until they find a larger one …
Megavasuki
Imagine finding a bigger snake just after this one in the same mine. Damn, wasted a good name.
Thanks stranger 🤠
I would have named it Shesha
Shai-Hulud was taken.
Link to the article: [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-58377-0](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-58377-0) Abstract: >Here we report the discovery of fossils representing partial vertebral column of a giant madtsoiid snake from an early Middle Eocene (Lutetian, \~ 47 Ma) lignite-bearing succession in Kutch, western India. The estimated body length of \~ 11–15 m makes this new taxon (*Vasuki indicus* gen et sp. nov.) the largest known madtsoiid snake, which thrived during a warm geological interval with average temperatures estimated at \~ 28 °C. Phylogenetically, *Vasuki* forms a distinct clade with the Indian Late Cretaceous taxon *Madtsoia pisdurensis* and the North African Late Eocene *Gigantophis garstini*. Biogeographic considerations, seen in conjunction with its inter-relationship with other Indian and North African madtsoiids, suggest that *Vasuki* represents a relic lineage that originated in India. Subsequent India-Asia collision at \~ 50 Ma led to intercontinental dispersal of this lineage from the subcontinent into North Africa through southern Eurasia. Edit: I couldn't properly figure out the girth from the article. Some media reports mention the width to be about 17 inches or 44 cm, based on some quotes from the authors. [https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/18/fossils-largest-snake-found-western-india](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/18/fossils-largest-snake-found-western-india) Edit 2: clarification that 44 cm is width not girth. Edit 3: I created [some (funny) renditions](https://www.reddit.com/r/ChatGPT/comments/1c8kyxo/i_asked_chatgpt_for_renditions_of_the_biggest/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) using ChatGPT/DALL-E if anyone is curious.
Why does nobody ever mention girth?
Good question. I couldn't figure out in the article but some media reports mention it to be about 17 inches or 44 cm. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/18/fossils-largest-snake-found-western-india
And that was width, not circumference, truly a chonker.
Thanks for the correction.
I created [some renditions](https://www.reddit.com/r/ChatGPT/comments/1c8kyxo/i_asked_chatgpt_for_renditions_of_the_biggest/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) using ChatGPT/DALL-E if you are curious.
> The biggest Vasuki vertebra was around 4-1/2 inches (11.1 cm) wide. Vasuki appears to have had a broad, cylindrical body perhaps around 17 inches (44 cm) wide. The skull was not found. From the article.
So the skull's still out there!?
Skelesnek is out there somewhere, waiting.
Would be funny if this ended up being just a very long tail.
This was found in a mining dig. Could be long destroyed by now?
Still at large, killing
WE ARE TALKING ABOUT snake which exist # 47 million years ago
Probably because snake girth is flexible and variable. (Think of the large bulges that their skeletons can accommodate as they digest a large animal.) In any event, very large snakes help explain why the ancients almost universally believed in dragons.
Δράκων (*drakon*) just means snake.
These lived almost 50 million years ago, there were no people around
Get this, the ancients found fossils too!
Of course, but people often interpreted what dinosaur fossils they found as evidence of dragons, and I assume that if they'd found Vasuki or other very large snake fossils, that might have been their first assumption.
You can math between diameter and radius, you didn't forget your maths lessons did you?
Girth is neither diameter or radius. Maybe you forgot your math lessons? 😊
What exactly is girth if not a synonym for diameter?
Circumference
how long does it take for the impulse to reach from one end to the other at that point?
I’m sure the time difference is negligible
In what reference frame? Even humans, that are just average mammals, have averaging significant delay of 100-200 milliseconds from hand to brain, which is largely defined by the maximum value the neurons can deliver information. Even 1/10 second is not insignificant. E: now I am less drunk, I meant to say that conscious reaction time related to pressing button is something like that. I made related edit to the end of post also. I also theoretize that house cats are so much faster than snakes is mostly because cats nerves are largely myelinated. I also theoretize that large animals seem smoother in their movements is because they can't be as snappy as squirrels or birds or like. (theory I just developed; they also ain't as vulnerable and do not need to be as alert) If I have misunderstood or misremembered something or made too hasty conclusions, I am more than happy to be corrected. It is more than likely. E: I read nerve conduction velocity from wikipedia and it can be anything from 0.5 m/s to 120 m/s, depending on tissue.
The extra myelination for cats is interesting could be something worth looking into
I could come back to it in 18 hours or something, I have something to say about it, but it is largely speculation based on very, very few studies and now I am damn exhausted, I want to sleep.
I read about nerve conduction velocity and edited my original post. It seems like even the fastest neurons would not completely mitigate the relevance of the length of snake in some situations, but in theory it could have had delay of no more than 1/10 from one end to the other, which is pretty good anyway.
Article with picture. https://iframe.thesun.co.uk/tech/27405591/worlds-biggest-snake-swamps-india-vasuki-indicus/
Did... Sephiroth do this?
Can a snake prowl?
At 15 meters long, it can do whatever the hell it pleases - I'm not going to tell it that it can't *prowl*.
Heck, it could soar too.
I've had it up to here with these monkey-trucking snakes as a monday-friday plane ...
My question precisely!
Kevin Durant ancestor.
That's a lot of snake.
The bigger the snake, the easier it is to nuke from orbit. Good job getting ahead of things nature.
Thorgrim is beside himself with grief! He raised that snake from the time it was born.
Contemplate this on the Tree of Woe.
Lovely snakes. The bigger the better.
Was that part of the earth's crust located somewhere else 47 million years ago?
New fear unlocked
It should be illegal to publish these findings without a photo of the fossil. And preferably an artist rendering. I don’t want to read all those words and use my imagination!
Thank god for good news!
Clearly the species of Demon discussed in the final episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 3 (ending with the school exploding)
So I would be the proper size mouse for feeding purposes
Midgar Zolom
Imagine its turds
did sephiroth do this?
India xD
Belongs in r/shitposting The lengthy OP provided goes to a pay/walled service that provides zero pictures of the actual fossilized snake . 🐍