CNN —A giant prehistoric snake longer than a school bus slithered around what is now India 47 million years ago, according to new research. A panoramic view of Panandhro Lignite Mine, in western India's Gujarat state, shows the fossiliferous level (red arrow) where the giant snake Vasuki indicus was found. However, the snake would have rivaled the largest known snake species — the extinct Titanoboa — in size. Snake size and the role of climateSnakes are cold-blooded and need heat from the environment to survive. Datta and Bajpai said the snake lived in a coastal marsh and swamp.

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Persons: dwarfing, indicus, Shiva, Debajit Datta, Sunil Bajpai, ”, Datta, Verma Debajit, Bajpai, Titanoboa, Vasuki Organizations: CNN, Indian Institute of Technology Locations: India, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Uttarakhand, India’s Gujarat, India's Gujarat, Colombia