© 2014 Universal Uclick Discovering a Lost World from The Mini Page © 2014 Universal Uclick Monster ! Ten years ago, scientists uncovered At the top of the food chain the remains of giants in a land that constrictors such as Titanoboa had been buried for nearly 65 million have no venom glands. They are years. The biggest giant of them all not poisonous. They kill their prey was the most enormous snake to ever by twisting around its body and live on Earth. Scientists named it squeezing. Each time the prey Titanoboa (tie-TAN-uh-BOE-uh). breathes out, the boa constricts, Its name comes from “titanic,” which or tightens. The squeezing stops the means “gigantic,” and from “boa,” prey’s blood from flowing, and its heart which is the snake’s family. stops. At first, paleontologists* (pay-lee- can spread their jaws so far uhn-TAHL-uh-jists) believed the giant apart that they can swallow things bones found at the South American much, much bigger than their heads. mine belonged to ancient crocodiles. The Titanoboa could open its jaw about They were astonished to learn that the 6 feet wide, as big as a standing man. bones belonged to a huge snake. Almost all constrictors swallow their To learn more about this amazing prey whole. They basically walk their , The Mini Page talked with one art ©2012 SNI/SI Network, LLC. All rights reserved mouths over the prey, surge forward of the paleontologists working to solve Titanoboa coils around a giant crocodile, and swallow. the mysteries of Titanoboa. crushing it so it can eat it at its leisure. *Paleontologists study the of plants Boas swallow their prey head first. and . A giant among snakes Titanoboa was 48 feet long, longer than a school bus. The largest living snake, the anaconda (an-uh-KAHN- duh), is less than half that size, growing to about 20 feet long. Titanoboa was 26 inches wide. It photo courtesy Jason Head, University of Nebraska State Museum art by Jason Bourque, courtesy Florida Museum of Natural History might have been twice as wide after Titanoboa ruled this ancient rain forest swallowing its prey. It weighed 2,500 A Titanoboa , or back bone, is on the right after the dinosaurs left the Earth. That left, and a modern anaconda vertebra is on time is known as the (PAY-lee- pounds — 500 pounds more than a the right. Titanoboa’s vertebrae were as big uh-seen) era. ton. as those of a modern whale. from The Mini Page © 2014 Universal Uclick A Stupendous Snake Strikes Lying in wait Life of a giant Boas don’t need to eat very often. Titanoboa most likely gave birth to They swallow their prey quickly, and baby snakes while in the water. The then digest it very slowly. A huge father probably had nothing to do snake such as Titanoboa may have with caring for the babies. We don’t needed to hunt and eat only once a know if the mother stayed to care for year. It would lie quietly for a year, them or not. With some snakes, the then it would wake up and ambush mother does provide some protection new prey when it got hungry. to the babies. Because their prey usually fights We don’t know how long Titanoboa back, modern constrictors can get lived. pretty chewed up, missing parts of their bodies. To protect themselves, they kill their prey as fast as they can. They try to capture as big a prey as possible so they don’t have to do photo © 2012 SNI/SI Networks L.L.C. All rights reserved Titanoboa hid quietly until striking battle very often. suddenly at its prey. Experts Water monster believe there are the Titanoboa probably lived in a remains of huge freshwater river system much even larger like the Amazon in Titanoboa

today. The snake was so heavy that it art courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech snakes buried in the probably spent most of its time in the Titanoboa and the remains of the Colombian water. Most modern boas hang down oldest known rain forest on Earth were coal mine from trees to capture their prey. discovered buried in the Cerrejon (SER- photo © 2012 SNI/SI Network, LLC. All rights reserved site. uh-hone) coal mine in .

from The Mini Page © 2014 Universal Uclick from The Mini Page © 2014 Universal Uclick TM Titanoboa Ready Resources P G A D I H E N E C O E L A P The Mini Page provides ideas for websites, S R I M R O T C I R T S N O C Basset W F E A B M D H S R C B L M O books or other resources that will help you Brown’s learn more about this week’s topics. A O J Y N U I I O N I O O N L On the Web: Try L S A V N T S N G T A V A A O • sites.si.edu/titanoboa L S W T S O L H E L V K E L M • bit.ly/1s0cmpI ’n’ O I T S E R O F N I A R E R B At the library: Find W L T A E E A R B E T R E V I • “Titanoboa: Monster Snake” DVD T S I G O L O T N O E L A P A • “Everything You Need to Know About Snakes” Words that remind us of Titanoboa are hidden in the block above. Some words are hidden backward or diagonally, and some letters are used twice. See if you can by DK Publishing find: AMBUSH, BOA, COAL, COLOMBIA, CONSTRICTOR, DIG, EAT, , • “National Geographic Readers: Snakes!” GIANT, HID, HOT, JAW, LOST, MINE, PALEOCENE, PALEONTOLOGIST, PREY, by Melissa Stewart RAIN FOREST, RIVER, SNAKE, SWALLOW, VERTEBRAE. 5.  4.  3.  2.  1.  Activities: •  This week’sstandard: activities thatwillhelpyourstudentsreachthem. week we­ Mini Pageactivitiesmeetmanystateandnationaleducational standards.Each TM q q q q for Titanoboa.Seeifyoucanfind: Life Science) Students understandthecharacteristicsandlifecyclesof organisms.(Science: (standards byDr.Sherrye D.Garrett, TexasA&M University-Corpus Christi) smallest tolargest. Explainwhereeachlives. Research modern membersoftheboafamily. Listtheboasinorderfrom warm temperatures, and(d)theSmithsonian Institution? Why weretheseimportantto theTitanoboa:(a)paleontologists,(b)rivers,(c) Titanoboa. Explainyourchoices. In thenewspaper,findfiveanimals thatyouthinkmightbeabletofighta wide asaTitanoboa.Howwould aTitanoboafitinyourhouse? In yournewspaper,circlefive wordsorpicturesofitemsthatareaslong Make amovieposterforscary filmaboutaTitanoboa. breadslice jesterhat candycane dragon identify standards that relate to The Mini Page’s content and offer identify standardsthatrelatetoTheMiniPage’scontent andoffer Mini Spy and Basset Brown are at the exhibit Mini SpyandBassetBrownareattheexhibit q q q q icepop seahorse ladder paintroller Mini Spy Monster Snake! Standards Spotlight: q q q q fish banana teapot ship q icecreamcone from The Mini Page © 2014 Universal Uclick from TheMiniPage©2014Universal q q q q pencil hamburger snake cheese wedge

from The Mini Page © 2014 Universal Uclick Meet DannyWeinkauf with hisfamilyonLongIsland,N.Y. third grade.Helearnedtoplaytheguitarwhenhewasinjuniorhigh. instrument, thetrumpet,fromagreatmusicteacher,Mr.Mattson,in ukulele, drums,pianoandkeyboards.Helearnedtoplayhisfirst • 1teaspoonItalianseasoning • 2tablespoonsspaghettisauce • 1medium-sizeflourtortilla You willneedanadult’shelpwiththisrecipe. 5. Sliceinquartersforsmallslices.Makes1serving. 4.  3. Layerpepperonislicesandcheesetomakeanindividualpizza. 2.  1. Spraysmallskilletwithcookingspray. What todo: You’ll need: TM Darla: Dino-sore! Denise:  guess thecommonthemeorcategory? All thefollowingjokeshavesomethingincommon. Canyou He playsseveralinstruments,includingthebass,mandolin,banjo, Danny has college degrees in psychology and physical therapy. He lives Danny hascollegedegreesinpsychologyandphysicaltherapy.Helives melts. (Becarefulnottoburnthebottom.) Cover andcookonmediumheatfor1to2minutesuntilcheese Sprinkle Italianseasoningoverthesauce. Place tortillainpanandspreadspaghettisauceevenlyoverthetop. TM it hasworked outatthegym? How doesan Apatosaurusfeelafter Rookie Cookie’s Recipe Cookie’s Rookie Funny’s David: YougetaTyrannosaurus Pecks! Dennis:  Debbie: Dino-snores! Dana:  Mighty

photo courtesy when itsleeps? What doesanApatosaurusdo Mini Jokes the world. a Paleontologist”isusedinmuseumexhibitsaround commercials. HisTheyMightBeGiantssong“IAm album andplaysalltheinstrumentshimself. daughter, Lena,andwife,Michelle.Heproducedthe The albumincludesperformancesbyhisson,Kai, Giants. HisfirstCDonhisownis“NoSchoolToday.” known asamemberofthebandTheyMightBe dinosaur withachicken? What happensifyoucross alarge Danny, 50, has written songs for TV, movies and Danny, 50,haswrittensongsforTV,moviesand Danny Weinkaufisamusicianandcomposerbest Pizza Tortilla • • 8turkeypepperonislices 1 / 4 cupmozzarellacheese from The Mini Page © 2014 Universal Uclick from TheMiniPage©2014Universal from The Mini Page © 2014 Universal Uclick from TheMiniPage©2014Universal from The Mini Page © 2014 Universal Uclick from TheMiniPage©2014Universal from The Mini Page © 2014 Universal Uclick Hunting for Ancient Clues Buried treasure This scientifically accurate, full-size model of Titanoboa In 2002, a student is part of the Smithsonian found a fossilized leaf in the Cerrejon traveling exhibit. It is coal mine in Colombia. It was the currently on display at the first sign that an ancient forest had University of Nebraska State once existed there. Museum in Lincoln, Neb. The exhibit is scheduled to Over the next 10 years, teams of travel to several different scientists discovered the remains of cities across the United the oldest known tropical rain forest. States through 2017. It held the ancestors of many modern “Titanoboa: Monster Snake” plants, including the earliest known is a partnership with the Florida Museum of Natural bananas, palms, avocados, beans and History, the University of cacao (kuh-KAY-oh), the plant that Nebraska, the Smithsonian gives us chocolate. Tropical Research Institute In 2004, they also found fossils and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling of giant turtles as big as pool tables Exhibition Service. and enormous crocodiles. The most

exciting discovery was Titanoboa. Photo by James Di Loreto, courtesy Smithsonian Institution The courage to explore A hot time for snakes Paleontologists work under harsh Snakes are cold-blooded animals. conditions at Cerrejon. Huge trucks Their body temperature depends on dig up the coal while paleontologists the temperature in the environment. are hunting fossils. The trucks are A huge snake such as Titanoboa so gigantic that the drivers can’t see could have survived only if the the paleontologists working beneath climate were hotter than it is now. photo courtesy Carlos Jaramillo, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute them. The scientists have to watch Based on the snake’s size, experts Paleontologists dig at the Cerrejon coal figure the average temperatures then mine. It is one of the largest open-pit out for the trucks and jump out of coal mines in the world, as large as 8,000 the way. Huge cracks appear in the were between 84 and 89.6 degrees football fields. Coal is formed from plants layers of coal, and paleontologists Fahrenheit. This is 5 to 8 degrees that lived millions of years ago. Their may have to leap across these cracks warmer than in today’s rain forests. remains were buried under dirt and water Even though our planet is heating for millions of years, and the pressure to dodge the trucks. Sometimes they and heat changed the remains to coal. miss and fall into the cracks. up, it is unlikely that giant snakes This makes coal mines good places to It’s hot and humid in this mine would arise again. find fossils. near the , and coal dust coats Today, temperatures are rising so fast that wildlife can’t adjust. Huge The Mini Page thanks Dr. Jason Head, the scientists. The coal in the mine assistant professor, Department of Earth can suddenly burst into flame. animals would not have the time to and Atmospheric Sciences, University of develop. Nebraska-Lincoln and curator of Next week, The Mini Page celebrates paleontology in the University of Nebraska Memorial Day with a story about the U.S. Look through your newspaper for stories State Museum, for help with this issue. Air Force. about scientific discoveries. The Mini Page Staff Betty Debnam - Founding Editor and Editor at Large Lisa Tarry - Managing Editor Lucy Lien - Associate Editor Wendy Daley - Artist