Interesting new paper by Alfonso-Rojas et al. on #anaconda 🐍 size #evolution using fossils from Venezuela 🇻🇪 - they suggest giant anacondas are survivors from the radiation of giant vertebrates in South America during the Miocene ⬇️
#Paleontology #Science #Snakes
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com
An early origin of gigantism in anacondas (Serpentes: Eunectes) revealed by the fossil record
Anacondas (Serpentes: Eunectes) are among the largest extant snakes, reaching body lengths up to 7 meters, but the evolution of gigantism in anacondas and its environmental drivers is poorly unders...