A prehistoric snake that inhabited western India approximately 47 million years ago may have rivalled the largest snakes ever identified. Debajit Datta and Sunil Bajpai, of the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, described Vasuki indicus in Scientific Reports in 2024. Their analysis examined 27 fossilised vertebrae recovered from the Panandhro Lignite Mine in Kutch, Gujarat. The bones apparently belonged to a fully grown animal, with several still connected in their original arrangement.
Comparisons with living snakes produced length estimates ranging from 10.9 to 15.2 metres. Although this places Vasuki alongside Titanoboa, the extinct Colombian snake thought to have reached roughly 13 metres, the estimates vary substantially between methods. Whether Vasuki actually exceeded Titanoboa remains uncertain. Its unusually broad vertebrae indicate a thick, cylindrical body, suggesting relatively slow movement and an ambush strategy rather than active pursuit. It may have occupied terrestrial or shallow, swampy habitats. Regional temperatures averaged approximately 28 degrees Celsius, potentially supporting substantial growth, although food availability, habitat and evolutionary history also influence body size.
Vasuki belonged to Madtsoiidae, an extinct snake family distinct from modern pythons and anacondas. Its relationships with ancient Indian and North African species suggest that a giant-snake lineage originated on the Indian subcontinent before dispersing elsewhere. Research published by Datta and Bajpai in 2025 identified additional snakes from western India's Eocene deposits, including aquatic species and another large madtsoiid. These discoveries indicate that Vasuki belonged to a diverse reptile community occupying wetlands, marshes and tidal environments, rather than representing an isolated example of snake gigantism.
