Publication Identification

Field	Information
Country	United States
Publisher	Smithsonian Institution
Publisher address	Pending research update
Magazine title	Smithsonian
Publication status	Continuing publication
Publication run	Pending research update
Editor	Pending research update
Printer	Pending research update
ISSN	Pending research update
Language	English
Publication type	General interest science, history, culture, and natural history magazine
Publication frequency	Monthly

Preservation Significance

This issue is significant within the preservation collection because Smithsonian placed an extinct snake at the center of a major general interest science and history magazine.  The cover headline, Meet the World’s Biggest Snake, presents Titanoboa as the defining feature of the April 2012 issue and connects a fossil discovery directly with public scientific communication.

The issue preserves the moment when Titanoboa moved from specialist paleontological research into broad public awareness.  The accompanying feature explains the discovery of an enormous fossil snake from Colombia, its implications for understanding prehistoric tropical ecosystems and the scientific effort required to reconstruct an animal known only from fragmentary fossil remains.

Within the collection, the issue is especially useful because it expands the snake record beyond living species, captive care and modern ecology.  It documents paleontology, extinction, deep time, climate interpretation and the reconstruction of prehistoric ecosystems, showing another way snakes have contributed to scientific inquiry and public understanding.