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fix(readme): Titanoboa is not the largest anymore #198

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4 changes: 3 additions & 1 deletion README.md
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -36,7 +36,9 @@ If you are running titanoboa on a local [Vyper](https://github.com/vyperlang/vyp

## Background

Titanoboa (/ˌtaɪtənəˈboʊə/;[1] lit. 'titanic boa') is an extinct genus of very large snakes that lived in what is now La Guajira in northeastern Colombia. They could grow up to 12.8 m (42 ft), perhaps even 14.3 m (47 ft) long and reach a body mass of 730–1,135 kg (1,610–2,500 lb). This snake lived during the Middle to Late Paleocene epoch, around 60 to 58 million years ago, following the extinction of all non-avian dinosaurs. Although originally thought to be an apex predator, the discovery of skull bones revealed that it was more than likely specialized in preying on fish. The only known species is Titanoboa cerrejonensis, the largest snake ever discovered,[2] which supplanted the previous record holder, Gigantophis garstini.[3]
Titanoboa ([/ˌtaɪtənəˈboʊə/](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/English); lit. 'titanic boa') is an [extinct](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extinction) [genus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genus) of giant [boid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boidae) (the family that includes all boas and [anacondas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaconda)) snake that lived during the [middle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selandian) and [late](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanetian) [Paleocene](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleocene). Titanoboa was first discovered in the early 2000s by the [Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smithsonian_Tropical_Research_Institute) who, along with students from the [University of Florida](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Florida), recovered 186 fossils of Titanoboa from [La Guajira](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Guajira) in northeastern [Colombia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colombia). It was named and described in 2009 as Titanoboa cerrejonensis, the largest snake ever found at that time. It was originally known only from thoracic vertebrae and ribs, but later expeditions collected parts of the skull and teeth. Titanoboa is in the subfamily [Boinae](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boinae), being most closely related to other extant boines from Madagascar and the Pacific.

Titanoboa could grow up to 12.8 m (42 ft) long, perhaps even up to 14.3 m (47 ft) long, and weigh around 730–1,135 kg (1,610–2,500 lb). The discovery of Titanoboa cerrejonensis supplanted the previous record holder, [Gigantophis garstini](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigantophis), which is known from the [Eocene](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eocene) of [Egypt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egypt). Titanoboa evolved following the extinction of all non-avian [dinosaurs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaur), being one of the largest reptiles to evolve after the [Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cretaceous%E2%80%93Paleogene_extinction_event). Its vertebrae are very robust and wide, with a pentagonal shape in anterior view, as in other members of Boinae. Although originally thought to be an [apex predator](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apex_predator), the discovery of skull bones revealed that it was more than likely specialized in [preying on fish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piscivore).

## Usage / Quick Start

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