James Stewart

Our modern scientific methods are just a flashlight, really.

To shine a light on the whole picture, we must look at all the evidence around us.

And then, well, we might find something truly incredible.

Like the city of El Dorado.

Or not.

Let me know in the comments below what you think or even hope might still be waiting to be discovered in the Amazon.

Or maybe you don't like the idea of finding stuff, and sometimes the unknown, the hidden, remains the most exciting thing.

66 million years ago, dinosaurs vanished almost overnight.

Forests collapsed, food chains broke apart, and extinction reigned supreme.

And in the warmer world left behind, a new predator slithered to the top.

What could be the largest snake the world has ever seen?

This was an animal that could snap a giant turtle shell like a cracker in its coils and was capable of devouring two meter long crocodiles.

Titanoboa was a master of disguise, silently lurking deep in the depths of South American swamps to claim its next victim.

Measuring in at 14 meters long, Titanoboa was not only the largest predator on the surface of the planet for at least 10 million years, but it also carries a fascinating, unique, and truly unbelievable scientific story.

I'm James Stewart, and you're watching Astrum Earth.

In this video, we'll unravel the mystery of Titanoboa, from its discovery in Colombian coal mines, to how it lived, hunted, and was able to thrive in a way never before seen amongst reptiles.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we'll ask the biggest question of them all.

Where did this monstrosity go, and could it one day return?

For most of the 20th century, there was a gap in the fossil record.

The first few million years following the Cretaceous-Paleogene event, one of the greatest mass extinction events in Earth's history, were poorly understood.