'Titanoboa: Monster Snake' slithers into Morrill Hall Feb. 22

Released on 02/10/2014, at 2:00 AM
Office of University Communications
University of Nebraska–Lincoln

WHEN: Saturday, Feb. 22, 2014, through Sep. 7, 2014

WHERE: University of Nebraska State Museum, Morrill Hall, south of 14th and Vine Streets

Lincoln, Neb., February 10th, 2014 —
Measuring 48 feet long and weighing up to 2,500 pounds, the massive predator Titanoboa cerrejonensis could crush and devour a crocodile. (copyright 2012 SNI/SI Network, LLC. All rights reserved)
Measuring 48 feet long and weighing up to 2,500 pounds, the massive predator Titanoboa cerrejonensis could crush and devour a crocodile. (copyright 2012 SNI/SI Network, LLC. All rights reserved)
Fossil plants and animals found at the site reveal the earliest known rainforest, teeming with life and dating to the Paleocene, the lost world that followed the demise of the dinosaurs, 60 million years ago. (Illustration | Jason Bourque, Florida Museum of Natural History)
Fossil plants and animals found at the site reveal the earliest known rainforest, teeming with life and dating to the Paleocene, the lost world that followed the demise of the dinosaurs, 60 million years ago. (Illustration | Jason Bourque, Florida Museum of Natural History)
Scientists have recovered dozens of monster snakes from the Cerrejon coal mine in northern Colombia. The modern dry desolate area is a far cry from the Paleocene rainforest of Titanoboa's era. (Courtesy Carlos Jaramillo, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute)
Scientists have recovered dozens of monster snakes from the Cerrejon coal mine in northern Colombia. The modern dry desolate area is a far cry from the Paleocene rainforest of Titanoboa's era. (Courtesy Carlos Jaramillo, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute)
The Smithsonian traveling exhibition,
The Smithsonian traveling exhibition, "Titanoboa: Monster Snake," features a full-scale model and will travel to museums across the country on a 15-city tour. (Photo | James Di Loreto, Smithsonian Institution)
Jason Head, assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and curator of vertebrate paleontology in the University of Nebraska State Museum, shows the vertebrae size difference between a modern Anaconda (right) and Titanoboa cerrejonesis (left). (Photo courtesy Jason Head)
Jason Head, assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and curator of vertebrate paleontology in the University of Nebraska State Museum, shows the vertebrae size difference between a modern Anaconda (right) and Titanoboa cerrejonesis (left). (Photo courtesy Jason Head)
"Titanoboa: Monster Snake" exhibition logo

            Slithering in at 48 feet long, a realistic replica of the world's largest snake will be on exhibit Feb. 22 through Sept. 7 at the University of Nebraska State Museum in Morrill Hall.

            Titanoboa lived 60 million years ago and weighed up to an estimated 2,500 pounds. Celebrating the new Smithsonian Affiliation of the State Museum, this remarkable Smithsonian exhibit will feature a striking full-scale model of Titanoboa. The exhibit includes fossils and bones of Titanoboa and modern reptiles, exhibits on past environments and clips from the Smithsonian Channel documentary, "Titanoboa: Monster Snake." Visitors will learn about the discovery, reconstruction and implications of this enormous reptile. The exhibition is a collaboration between the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the Florida Museum of Natural History, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service.

            The startling discovery of Titanoboa was made by a team of scientists working in the world's largest open-pit coal mine at Cerrejon in La Guajira, Colombia. Collecting expeditions over the last decade have produced finds of giant turtles and crocodiles, as well as the first-known bean plants and some of the earliest banana, avocado and chocolate plants. The most spectacular discovery is the fossilized vertebrae of a previously undiscovered species of snake.

            Jason Head, assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and curator of vertebrate paleontology in the NU State Museum, joined forces with Jonathan Bloch of the Florida Museum of Natural History and Carlos Jaramillo of STRI to unlock the mysteries of this ancient time and learn more about how Titanoboa lived and hunted. The fossilized remains revealed that, after the extinction of the dinosaurs, the tropics were warmer than today and witnessed the birth of the South American rainforest, in which huge creatures fought to become the top predators. Dominating this era was Titanoboa, the undisputed largest snake in the history of the world.

            For more information visit http://museum.unl.edu/titanoboa/index.html.

            The University of Nebraska State Museum in Morrill Hall, one block south of 14th and Vine streets, is open 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Wednesday and Friday-Saturday, 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursdays, and 1:30-4:30 p.m. Sundays. Regular admission is $6 for adults (19 and over), $3 for children (5-18 years), free for children 4 and under, and $13 for families (up to two adults and children). UNL staff, faculty, and students are admitted free with NU ID during all regular hours. Friends of the Museum are also free. Parking is free in front of the museum. For further information, telephone the museum at 402-472-2642 or visit its website, http://www.museum.unl.edu.

Writer: Mandy Haase

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