What is the scientific name of the prehistoric giant snake Titanoboa?

The scientific name of the prehistoric giant snake Titanoboa is Titanoboa cerrejonensis.

Fossils of this snake were discovered in Colombia’s Cerrejón coal mine and described in 2009. Titanoboa lived about 58 to 60 million years ago, shortly after the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs. Its name combines Titanoboa, meaning giant boa, with cerrejonensis, referring to Cerrejón.

Scientists estimate that Titanoboa reached roughly 12 to 14 metres long and weighed more than 1,000 kilograms. Those estimates come mainly from exceptionally large vertebrae, because a complete skeleton has not been found. It was probably an aquatic or semi-aquatic predator in a hot Paleocene rainforest.

Titanoboa is often called the largest snake ever discovered, but that claim refers to the fossil record. No living snake approaches its estimated mass, and comparisons with modern anacondas and pythons rely on different kinds of evidence.