[link to www.couriermail.com.au] GIANT fossilised snake skeletons found on Cape York have unearthed new links to the Dreamtime myth of the Rainbow Serpent.
Fragments of the giant prehistoric snakes, known by the scientific term madtsoiids, that once stalked the Earth have been found by cavers and scientists in the secret "fossil gold mines" of the state's deep north.
Dated back to the Pleistocene epoch, between 2 million and 11,700 years ago, the fossils are believed to be akin to a constricting python, a predator that grew up to 7m long and as thick as a telegraph pole.
Experts question if the giant snakes intersected with the arrival of the earliest humans and if the extinct creature is the latest clue into the mystery of the popular Dreaming story of Australian Aborigines.
The Rainbow Serpent is a story of creation, where a creature of immense proportions moulded the barren earth into mountains, rivers and gorges as it moved across the featureless land.
Dr Gilbert Price, a paleontologist at the University of Queensland, is working with a team of 10 fellow scientists dedicated to solving the prehistoric puzzle of north Queensland.
"There is so much cool stuff out there that can inform us about past life and climate change," Dr Price said.
"It is only a matter of time before we identify entirely new creatures."
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