Fossil vertebrae unearthed in a mine in western India are the remains of one of the largest snakes that ever lived, a monster estimated at up to 15 metres in length – longer than a T rex.

Scientists have recovered 27 vertebrae from the snake, including a few still in the same position as they would have been when the reptile was alive. They said the snake, which they named Vasuki indicus, would have looked like a large python and would not have been venomous.

The lignite mine where the fossil was found is located in Panandhro, in the western state of Gujarat.

“Considering its large size, Vasuki was a slow-moving ambush predator that would subdue its prey through constriction like anacondas and pythons. This snake lived in a marshy swamp near the coast at a time when global temperatures were higher than today,” said Debajit Datta, a postdoctoral researcher in palaeontology at the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee and the lead author of the study, published in the journal Scientific Reports on Thursday.

Because of the incomplete nature of the Vasuki remains, the researchers gave an estimated length range of 11-15 metres and 1 tonne in weight.

Vasuki, named after the snake king associated with the Hindu deity Shiva, rivals in size another huge prehistoric snake called Titanoboa, whose fossils were discovered in a coalmine in northern Colombia in 2009. Titanoboa, estimated at 13 metres long and more than 1 tonne, lived between 58m and 60m years ago. The largest living snake today is Asia’s reticulated python at 10 metres.

“The estimated body length of Vasuki is comparable to that of Titanoboa, although the vertebrae of Titanoboa are slightly larger than those of Vasuki. However, at this point, we cannot say if Vasuki was more massive or slender compared to Titanoboa,” said Sunil Bajpai, a palaeontologist, professor at Roorkee and the study’s co-author.

These huge snakes lived during the Cenozoic era, which began after the dinosaur age ended 66m years ago.

The biggest Vasuki vertebra was about 11cm (4in) wide. Vasuki appears to have had a broad, cylindrical body perhaps around 44cm wide. The skull was not found.

“Vasuki was a majestic animal,” Datta said. “It may well have been a gentle giant, resting its head on a high porch formed by coiling its massive body for most parts of the day or moving sluggishly through the swamp like an endless train.”

The researchers are unsure what prey Vasuki ate, but considering its size it could have included crocodilians. Other fossils found in the area included crocodilians and turtles, as well as fish and two primitive whales, Kutchicetus and Andrewsiphius.

Vasuki was a member of the madtsoiidae snake family that appeared roughly 90m years ago but went extinct about 12,000 years ago. These snakes spread from India through southern Eurasia and into north Africa after the Indian subcontinent collided with Eurasia about 50m years ago, Bajpai said.

This was a dominant snake family during the dinosaur age’s late stages and into the early Cenozoic before its diversity dropped, he added.

“Snakes are amazing creatures that often leave us stunned because of their size, agility and deadliness,” Datta said. “People are scared of them as some snakes are venomous and have a fatal bite. But snakes perhaps attack people out of fear rather than with an intent to attack. I believe snakes, like most animals, are peaceful creatures, and an important component of our ecosystem.”

Two more black-footed ferrets have been successfully cloned in an attempt to save the endangered species, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced.

The national agency shared news about the births of ferrets Noreen and Antonia, who were both born last May.

Both ferrets were cloned using tissue samples collected in 1988 from a female ferret named Willa. The 2020 birth of a black-footed ferret – using the same genetic material that produced Noreen and Antonia – signified the first cloning of a native endangered species, the USFWS reported.

The cloning of black-footed ferret represents a significant milestone in the continued fight to save the gravely endangered species.

The black-footed ferret – known for the black markings on its tail, feet and eyes – has been categorized as endangered since the 1960s, according to the USFWS.

Agricultural expansion, the prairie dog and other factors led to a sharp decline in the ferret’s population, which was anywhere from 500,000 to 1 million in the 1800s.

The species was presumed extinct in 1979, when the last black-footed ferret died in captivity. But a small population of ferrets was discovered in 1981 by a Wyoming cattle rancher.

Conservationists quickly captured the wild ferrets and launched the Black-Footed Ferret Recovery Program, breeding the rare mammal in captivity to increase its population.

Willa was among of the few ferrets who were initially captured. Unfortunately, the female ferret did not have any living descendants. But scientists collected her genes and tissue samples – freezing the precious cells at the Frozen Zoo in San Diego, California.

The cryobank hosts more than 10,000 “living cell cultures, oocytes, sperm, and embryos” from nearly 1,000 species, according to the zoo’s website.

Elizabeth Ann, a female ferret born in 2020, was the first clone using Willa’s genes. But Elizabeth Ann, who lives at the National Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center in northern Colorado, also did not have descendants. Handlers working with Elizabeth Ann said the female ferret was not interested in any potential mates.

“She didn’t like the males, and she didn’t even let them into her tunnel,” Ben Novak, lead scientist with the conservation non-profit Revive & Restore, said to the Washington Post. “She bit one of them on the nose.”

Scientists are also unable to breed Elizabeth Ann due to an issue with her reproductive organs not caused by her initial cloning, CBS News reported.

Therefore, the latest ferrets were cloned after scientists inseminated a domestic ferret, the Post reported.

Noreen was born and also resides at the National Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center. Antonia lives at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute in Virginia.

The national agency confirmed that Noreen and Antonia are both “healthy and continue to reach expected developmental and behavioral milestones”.

Both ferrets will be used for breeding when they reach reproductive age.

To avoid pesticides, consider buying the fruits and vegetables that pose the least risk in a new analysis by Consumer Reports, and buying organic for those that pose the most. Below are answers to common questions about what other steps you can take.

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Find out more about pesticides at Consumer Reports

Watermelon, green beans and bell peppers are among the many common fruits and vegetables found in US supermarkets that contain potentially unsafe levels of pesticides, according to an analysis published today by Consumer Reports.

The new report – which analyzed seven years of US Department of Agriculture data on commonly eaten fruits and vegetables – offers one of the most comprehensive evaluations to date of pesticides found in US produce. The data was based on nearly 30,000 fruit and vegetable samples, including fresh, frozen, canned and organic, collected from supermarkets by the USDA as part of routine pesticide testing.

Consumer Reports built a huge database to analyze the data – and scored different foods to provide actionable recommendations to help consumers shop and eat with less risk.

Consumer Reports found that pesticide residue posed a significant risk in roughly 20% of the 59 common foods examined in its research. The foods deemed high risk included conventionally grown (ie non-organic) kale, blueberries, potatoes and bell peppers. Apples, grapes, peaches, tomatoes, spinach and celery were among the items considered moderate risk.

Organic fruits and vegetables generally had far less pesticide residue than conventionally grown foods, according to the research. But even a few organic foods posed some risk. For example, imported green beans carried a high risk and domestic potatoes a moderate one – raising questions about how these organic crops were contaminated with high-risk pesticides that are not approved for organic farming.

Imported, conventionally grown produce also posed higher risks than US-grown foods in the study. Foods grown in Mexico such as strawberries and green beans were especially worrisome. Mexican strawberries contained oxydemeton-methyl, part of a group of pesticides called organophosphates that are neurotoxins. This category of insecticides can overstimulate the nervous system at high exposure levels and disrupt the developing nervous system in infants and children.

For Consumer Reports to deem a fruit or vegetable high risk, only a relatively small proportion of samples had to be contaminated. The testing involved hundreds of samples for each food collected from US supermarkets over seven years. Only 4% of green bean samples tested had high-risk levels of pesticides.

But some of the levels found on contaminated beans were alarming: one green bean sample from 2022 had levels of methamidophos that were 100 times the level Consumer Reports’ scientists consider safe. Methamidophos has been banned in the US and on green bean imports for over a decade, raising questions about why it’s still showing up in supermarket produce.

It’s important to note that Consumer Reports scientists have stricter standards for what they consider safe than those of the Environmental Protection Agency – the US government body that sets the levels, known as tolerances. The Alliance for Food and Farming, a farming industry organization, notes that 99% of vegetables tested by the USDA meet government safety standards for pesticide residue. But many scientists – including those behind the Consumer Reports study – believe the EPA tolerances are often set far too high, putting consumers at risk.

“A lot of these EPA tolerances aren’t consistent with the best science,” says Michael Hansen, a senior scientist at Consumer Reports. “They were set a number of years ago – and they don’t take into account situations where there are multiple pesticide residues on a single sample. The data are now available – and the computing power is now there – to more accurately assess the actual risk.”

The strongest evidence of the dangers posed by pesticides comes from farm workers and pesticide applicators, who are exposed to much higher levels of the chemicals when they are applied to crops. On-the-job exposure to pesticides has been linked to higher risk of Parkinson’s disease, several forms of cancer, diabetes and other health problems.

When it comes to consumers, the risks from eating foods contaminated by pesticides grow over time. For most of the population, a single serving of a contaminated fruit is unlikely to cause harm – but routine consumption of a contaminated fruit or vegetable over months or years magnifies the risk.

Children and pregnant women are particularly vulnerable because some pesticides can be endocrine disruptors, which may interfere with hormones responsible for the development of key bodily systems, especially the reproductive system.

Over the next year, the Guardian will be partnering with Consumer Reports to dig more deeply into the findings of this study, seeking answers as to how the US food supply became contaminated by pesticides and what we can do about it.

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