James Stewart

Well, they backed this theory up too.

Studies of carbon isotopes and leaf pores from those samples indicated atmospheric carbon dioxide levels were about 50% higher than they are today, likely driving those high land temperatures.

So what if I told you that a 60 million year old snake the size of a bus lurking in a relentless swampy jungle could actually impact us here on Earth today?

You see, these findings help scientists understand how ecosystems respond to warming.

Rising greenhouse gases are currently heating the planet, and extreme temperatures can cause plant and animal die-offs.

We've seen that already, sadly, in some parts of the world.

Plants, for example, may eventually reach a point where they can no longer photosynthesize effectively, and they begin to die.

Yet during Titanoboa's time, the region supported a lush, highly productive forest.

So how can both things be true?

What this suggests is that there are some ecosystems that can thrive in very warm conditions if...

they have enough time to adapt.

Because the plants and ecosystems in this region have already coped with those really high levels of CO2, it might mean that those plants and animals already have the genetic ability to cope with global warming.

And that raises a big question.

Could, therefore, Titanoboa return as our planet continues to warm?

The news is either terrifying or exciting, depending on your view, because Dr. Jaramillo, the guy that started this whole thing off, says there's a chance.

Before I get your hopes up too much, the key difference here is time scale.

Ancient warming happened over millions of years, and this gave the species time to evolve.

Today's climate change is occurring over just centuries, and in some cases even quicker than that, which may not allow enough time for many species to adjust in the same way.

In other words, if Titanoboa is coming back, we certainly wouldn't be around to worry about it.

But what if we didn't have to wait at all?