The Smithsonian has installed an exhibit in Grand Central Station called “Titanoboa” that showcases a 48 foot long replica of the world’s largest snake. The serpent grew longer than a bus.

The replica of the 2,500-pound snake was unveiled Wednesday at the commuter hub to “stimulate public interest in science, and promote the Smithsonian’s more extensive titanoboa exhibit in D.C., which opens next week.”

The bones of the boa beast were found in a coal mine in Columbia by a team of paleontologists in 2009. Titanoboa overshadowed the Eocene epoch’s Gigantophis and is now the largest snake ever discovered.

The longest snake currently inhabiting the planet is the the reticulate python which stretches a little more than half the length of the titanoboa.

Titanoboa grew up to 2500 lbs. while the green anaconda, the world’s current heavy weight champion, is about a tenth of its weight.

Good thing these things are not alive!

Check out what was involved with the construction of the replica in the following YouTube video:

The Smithsonian Channel will be telling the story of this gargantuan animal in a documentary that will cover the discovery of its remains and what it reveals about the history of the Earth’s ecosystem.

The TV channel stated that “In the pantheon of predators, it’s one of the greatest discoveries since the T-Rex: a snake 48 feet long, weighing in at 2,500 pounds. Uncovered from a treasure trove of fossils in a Colombian coal mine, this serpent is revealing a lost world of giant creatures. Travel back to the period following the extinction of dinosaurs and encounter this monster predator.”

“Titanoboa: Monster Snake,” is a 2-hour special about the enormous constrictor; it is scheduled to premiere on Sunday, April 1 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. The documentary is also set for Blu-ray release on April 3.