This is the user sandbox of Steveoc 86. A user sandbox is a subpage of the user's user page. It serves as a testing spot and page development space for the user and is not an encyclopedia article. Create or edit your own sandbox here.
Finished writing a draft article? Are you ready to request review of it by an experienced editor for possible inclusion in Wikipedia? Submit your draft for review!
For most living species, there is uncertainty over the maximum size possible or the largest reliably recorded individuals, often due to unreliable visual estimations or lack of hard evidence. For snakes in particular, accurate measuring is difficult. Various methods exist, but all have issues.[1][2] Therefore, researchers might disagree with what they consider the largest reliable recorded size for a given species, and the sizes shown here might not represent the true maximum for the species. It is also important to note that the largest recorded sizes often represent exceptional individuals and do not represent the average size of the species.
Extinct snakes are often only known from fragmentary remains, so any length estimates must be extrapolated using extant species. However, due to the large number of variables, these estimates can vary substantially between methods and should be treated with caution.
• The green anaconda is generally considered the most massive extant snake. However, the maximum size of the species is controversial. There are various reports of exceptionally large anacondas, possibly up to 9 to 11 metres (30 to 36 ft).[1][3][4][2] The silhouette is scaled to 5.21 metres (17.1 ft), the longest measured out of ~780 anacondas in a study by Jesús Antonio Rivas. This size is often cited for large anacondas. Rivas cast doubt on exceptionally large anacondas due to possible constraints on large body size and the ability of females to breed. However, they suggested that the discrepancy between the largest reported sizes and the largest in the study could be due to the slow growth rate of anacondas and the study area being a cattle ranch, possibly not being overly protected, and larger animals being killed off. Rivas suggested that larger sizes might also be possible in habitats with permanent water bodies and little human intervention.[2] In 2024, a large anaconda was found dead in Bonito, Brazil, which was measured by rope at ~6.45 metres (21.2 ft) and then later measured at 6.32 metres (20.7 ft), although this has yet to be published in an academic journal.[5][6][7]
• The reticulated python is considered the longest extant snake but is usually less massive relative to the green anaconda. The silhouette is scaled to 6.95 metres (22.8 ft), which is the length of a reliably measured wild reticulated python.[8] Larger sizes have been reported, some up to ~10 metres (33 ft), but these are considered controversial or unreliable.[3][4][8] A captive reticulated python named "Medusa" was reported to measure 7.67 metres (25.2 ft).[9] A python in Pittsburgh Zoo named ''Colossus'' was reported to measure 28.5 feet (8.7 m) in 1956.[10]
• Gigantophis garstini is the largest member of the extinct snake family Madtsoiidae. Gigantophis is known from numerous vertebrae, but the morphology of Madtsoiidae snakes is not very well known. In 2004, it was estimated between ~9.3 and 10.7 metres (31 and 35 ft) in length by Jason Head & P. David Polly using regression analysis (the silhouette shown here is 10 metres (33 ft)). Another study by Jonathan P. Rio & Philip D. Mannion used a regression analysis that compared the postzygapophyseal width of a vertebra to the total length in extant boine snakes. This regression estimated the largest vertebra of the Gigantophis type specimen at ~6.9 metres (23 ft) (+/- 0.3 m). However, the authors urged caution due to uncertainties regarding the possible position of the vertebra in the spinal column, the lack of articulated madtsoiid remains, and the possibility that Gigantophis and extant boine snakes differ in the relationship between postzygapophyseal width and total length.[11][12]
• Palaeophis colossus is an extinct species of marinesnake and a member of the extinct snake family Palaeophiidae. One vertebra, CNRST-SUNY 290, produced a length estimate of 8.1 metres (27 ft), comparing the trans-prezygapophyseal width to a variety of extant snake species. Using a different vertebral landmark, the cotylar width, NHMUK PV R 9870 produced a length estimate of 12.3 metres (40 ft).
• Titanoboa cerrejonensis is an extinct boid only known from large vertebrae and skull material, but size estimates suggest it is the largest snake known. In 2009, Jason Head and colleagues estimated it at ~12.8 metres (42 ft) (+/-2.18 m) by regression analysis that compared vertebral width against body lengths for extant boine snakes. In a later conference abstract, Head et al. estimated a length of ~14.3 metres (47 ft) (+/-1.28 m) based on skull material, which has yet to be described, and comparisons to anacondas.[13][14]
^Rio, J.P; Mannion, P.D. (2017). "The osteology of the giant snake Gigantophis garstini from the upper Eocene of North Africa and its bearing on the phylogenetic relationships and biogeography of Madtsoiidae". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 37 (4): e1347179. doi:10.1080/02724634.2017.1347179.
