![]() An adult Green Anaconda can weight up to 550 lb (250 kg) and have a girth width of nearly 12 inches (30 cm). The Reticulated Python can for instance grow just as long as a Green Anaconda, but will weight much less. It is also considered the heaviest member of the super-order Squamata, since most other long snakes are much thinner than the Green Anaconda. With an average length of 18 feet (5.5 metres), the Green Anaconda is one of the largest snakes in the world. The Green Anaconda likes to stay submerged in the water until an unsuspecting prey ventures too close, and the eyes of this snake are therefore set very high on the head in order to make it possible for the anaconda to see out of the water with the rest of its body is hidden under the surface. The head is narrow compared to the rest of the body and have orange-yellow striping on both sides. This type of coloration serves to keep it well camouflaged when it hunts in the lush tropical forest of South America. The Green Anaconda derives its name from its olive green body colouration and is decorated with black blotches that run the length of the entire body. They live in Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Guyana and on the island of Trinidad. The Green Anacondas are normally found in the Amazon and Orinoco basins in northern South America. ![]() The three other anaconda species are Eunectes beniensis (Bolivian Anaconda), Eunectes deschauenseei (Dark-spotted Anaconda) and Eunectes notaeus (Yellow Anaconda). The scientific name for the Green Aanaconda is Eunectes murinus. Just like the other three species of Anaconda, the Green Anaconda is native to the swamps and rivers of the South American jungle where it hunts in the water and suffocate its prey. The snakes may also secrete a foul-smelling liquid when distressed.The Green Anaconda is the biggest member of the family Boidae, thus the biggest boa in the world. While none of these snakes are venomous, they can inflict deep bite wounds. That said, anacondas - like most creatures - will defend themselves if cornered. Yet no such incident has ever been confirmed. There's little doubt that a sufficiently big green anaconda could kill and eat a human being. And the mammals know how to put up a fight: Older anacondas sometimes display bite wounds left by capybaras they've attacked.Īt this point, you're probably wondering if people are on the menu. Earth's biggest rodents, capybaras are shaggy web-footed herbivores which stand about 1.6 feet (0.48 meters) tall.īeing amphibious, they regularly cross paths with anacondas. ![]() Another notable beast often taken by large anacondas is the capybara. Adults have been known to swallow up caimans: feisty crocodilians related to alligators. Wild anacondas feed on fish, lizards, birds, bird eggs, other snakes, carrion and a variety of mammals. However, according to new research involving the red-tailed boa ( Boa constrictor), the real cause of death is cardiac arrest. Naturalists used to think that snakes who used this technique were, in effect, strangling their prey. According to " The New Encyclopedia of Snakes" by Chris Mattison, there've been "several authenticated reports" of large "retics" measuring about 28 feet (8.5 meters) from end to end.Īnacondas kill by constriction, using their jaws to seize the victim before immobilizing it with tightly wrapped coils. Lengthwise, the Asian reticulated python probably has it beat. So, as a species, the green anaconda is considered the world's heaviest snake - but not necessarily the longest. The biggest and bulkiest Eunectes murinus can weigh 440 pounds (200 kilograms) or more. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't avoid stretching out the skin as he worked-which gave it a post-mortem length of 34.58 feet (10.54 meters). After he skinned the reptile, Lamar measured its disembodied hide. The freshly slain corpse was a respectable 24.58 feet (or 7.49 meters) long. Lamar proved this point in 1978, when he killed a wild anaconda of ample size. The problem is, those are really easy to distort. Some claims hinge on enormous skins cut from dead snakes. Yet rumors of anacondas growing two or three times larger persist.
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