The largest anaconda in the world. What is the longest Anaconda snake?
The famous giant snakes! They grow to incredible sizes. These are strong powerful creatures, deadly giants, ruthless and insatiable.
Ancient legends tell of giant snakes capable of swallowing an adult person whole. Today, thanks to the existing huge snakes, the myth is turning into reality.
The largest anaconda in the world, 11.43 m long, was caught in the wetlands of Colombia. At the moment, a representative of boa constrictors lives at the New York Zoological Society, about 9 meters in length and weighing 130 kg.
Another representative of huge reptiles is the reticulated python. Its length is 12.2 m, and its weight is 2 quintals. He now lives in the Japanese Zoological Garden.
Of the venomous snakes, the king cobra is considered the largest, reaching up to 5.5 m in length. Its habitat is India, Indochina and Southern China. A cobra's bite is so poisonous that a person's death occurs within a few minutes.
Anaconda is a super predator!
The South American anaconda is the world's largest snake of the boa constrictor family. When meeting her, a person’s blood runs cold and a paralyzing fear appears. The snake's strong, writhing body is capable of strangling anyone who stands in its way, even an adult bull. And no wonder, the longest snake in the world can be compared to a bus. Its weight, in some cases, reaches the mass of three adult men.
Their cunning, cunning, and size, combined with their method of movement, enhance their eerie mystical charm.
But today scientists are learning more and more about this mysterious creature.
Habitat and general characteristics of giants
Large anacondas always stay close to water, living in lakes, rivers, canals and channels that make up the Amazon and Orinoco river basins in South America, as well as on the island of Trinidad.
The Llanos Savannah in central Venezuela, with its lagoons and swamps, is an ideal habitat for anacondas. There are more of them here than anywhere else. The climate of the area is such that there is a drought for six months, followed by a six-month period of rain.
In most species of snakes, females are larger than males, but anacondas exhibit one of the largest sex differences between females and males among land vertebrates.
A large adult female snake can reach 6 m in length and weigh over 100 kg, with a girth of 30 cm. Males, on the other hand, remain much smaller and thinner than females.
Like human fingerprints, the pattern of scales on the underside of the tail is unique to each individual. This pattern that anacondas are born with remains unchanged.
Like other snakes, anacondas are cold-blooded creatures, i.e. are ectotherms. They cannot generate their own heat, but are forced to look for it in the environment. Therefore, they are constantly looking for places with the desired temperature of 25-27°C. They seek warmth when they need it and avoid it when it gets too hot.
Wonderful hunters without teeth and claws
Anacondas typically kill their victims by squeezing them tightly. So hard that no blood flows into the heart. The heart stops beating, blood circulation stops, and the animal dies very quickly.
As soon as the snake begins to swallow prey, it becomes very vulnerable, since its main weapon is occupied. This process can last up to 6 hours depending on the size of the production.
Before the mating season, females must build up enough fat to bear offspring, since during pregnancy they do not eat for 7 months or more.
Even a turtle, whose shell perfectly dissolves gastric juice of the strongest aggressive concentration, can become a victim. It is characteristic that after defecation there is no evidence left, all the bones are digested.
Anacondas feed on a variety of animals, from small birds to large animals. A snake rarely loses in a fight, but the sharp teeth and claws of the prey can decide the outcome not in favor of the predator.
When snakes want to gain weight, especially before mating season, they have to feed on large prey: capybaras, caimans and deer. All these animals know how to stand up for themselves, and sometimes inflict mortal wounds on the snake. When a snake has lunch, the food itself often strives to take a bite for itself.
Unlike other predators, the giant snake swallows its food whole. But to compensate for the lack of limbs, the anaconda, like most snakes, became a predator with a unique ability to adapt. The sides of the jaws are not connected in one place, which allows them to swallow any prey.
Despite the lack of weapons such as claws, snakes are skilled hunters. They use a number of complex techniques to survive in a hostile environment. The completely harmless appearance of a forked tongue inspires fear in most people. And some are even convinced that a snake can bite with its tongue. But this highly sensitive organ is vital for any snake to navigate its world.
With each protrusion of its tongue, the snake scans its surroundings. Both on land and under water, a chemical analysis of particles is carried out using the tongue, entering the brain through two holes in the palate leading to the so-called Jacobson's organ. This is why snakes have forked tongues.
The absence of eyelids on the eyes also makes snakes mysterious. But what exactly they see and how they do it still remains a mystery to scientists. It's no surprise that snakes, especially anacondas, are surrounded by myths and legends. There has always been something curious and unknown about them, but thanks to new technologies, science is gradually revealing some of their secrets.
Reproduction
Anacondas mate before a period of drought, when the humidity is not as high as during the rainy season. The male wraps himself around the female in such a way that it looks like spiral spaghetti. Moreover, the expression “group sex” very accurately characterizes the mating of anacondas, since many males are wrapped around the female at the same time.
They scrape against her skin with femoral spurs, a primitive appendage inherited from the ancestors of lizards. This is the courtship phase, which lasts up to 6 weeks, when males try to figure out who can stay near the female. During all this time, snakes spend a huge amount of energy. They do not eat, do not hunt, only court and mate. This is an amazing ritual!
Despite the inequality, no conflicts arise between males. It's a battle of perseverance and patience.
When fertilization has occurred, the ball disintegrates. The males and females each go in their own direction.
New life
In seven months, the anaconda will give birth to 20 to 60 live babies.
The mother does not feed during pregnancy because she is vulnerable to predators. Therefore, the pregnancy months are stressful for the snake. By the time labor begins, the mother will simply “die” of hunger.
Newborns reach up to 60 cm in length and from the very first breath they have to fend for themselves. Females do not nurse their young.
Cubs are born with the ability to swim and all the skills necessary for survival. But they still have a chance to die. While adult anacondas are practically not hunted by predators, newborns are extremely vulnerable to any threat: from caimans and birds to wild ocelot cats and jaguars.
By the time it reaches sexual maturity, after 8 years, the anaconda weighs 500 times more than at birth. Such growth rates significantly exceed the growth rates of other species of snakes.
Not many baby anacondas will survive their first year of life. Snakes don't win in competitions of numbers. The sayings “Like a snake in the grass”, “He has a tongue like a snake”, “A snake under the well” reinforce the negative image of snakes as dangerous and evil creatures.
Therefore, the main enemy of the anaconda is man. These mystical giants are killed for beautiful skin and for the production of medicines.
They are now recognized by scientists as an endangered species.
Snakes themselves are quite unsightly creatures and few people like them by sight, much less by touch. It is unlikely that for a large number of people an encounter with a snake in some forest will cause any positive emotions, but do not forget that snakes come in different sizes and if in our forests you rarely see anything larger than a snake or a viper, then when traveling where Sometime in the tropics we risk stumbling upon a specimen that is completely unusual for our eyes - an anaconda. The largest snake in the world actually lives in quite inaccessible places, especially for ordinary tourists, but still we will introduce you to this amazing slithering giant. So, let's start with the most interesting thing - the largest snake usually reaches 5-6 meters in length, but sometimes there are 9-meter specimens. The longest snake caught was a giant anaconda with a length of 11.43 meters. And although it was not possible to preserve this individual, its length was reliably documented. At the moment, the 9-meter anaconda kept at the New York Zoological Society is considered the longest. An anaconda can be identified not only by its enormous size, but also by its characteristic grayish-green color with two rows of round and oblong brown spots on the back and yellow spots with a black border on the sides. This is almost perfect camouflage for a snake that is accustomed to stalking its victims while sitting in water covered with leaves and algae. Due to the inaccessibility of anaconda habitats, there is no objective data on the size of their population yet. Basically, these giant snakes live in the quiet backwaters of the Amazon and Orinoco, only occasionally crawling ashore to bask in the sun.
In old literature one could often find the name “water boa”, because This is indeed one of the subspecies of boa constrictors, and spends most of its life in water, but still this subspecies has its own name - giant anaconda.
If the reservoir in which the anaconda lives dries up and there are no other creeks nearby, the snake buries itself in the silt and goes into a kind of hibernation until the rainy season begins. The largest snake in the world cannot live and hunt normally outside of water bodies.
Anacondas even shed their old skin “without leaving home” - they rub against the river bottom, gradually pulling off the old cover.
Just like other boas, the anaconda is not poisonous, and pacifies its victims with “close embraces” and subsequent squeezing, from which it is almost impossible for the animal to free itself, and a person still has, albeit scanty, a chance to catch the snake’s tail and prevent for him to wrap himself around himself - this is exactly what trainers do in the circus. Although such a trick is unlikely to help with an anaconda, because... she is incomparably larger than any circus boa constrictor. By the way, female anacondas are much larger and stronger than males.
The largest snake catches unlucky animals, lying in wait for them near the water. But this applies not only to tapirs, capybaras and similar herbivores - there have been cases when a large anaconda even devoured a jaguar! Of course, in order to catch such a dangerous predator, the snake must be appropriate - ordinary 6-meter anacondas cannot do this. In addition, many waterfowl and birds, as well as other snakes, often come for lunch - there is a known case when an anaconda strangled and swallowed a 2.5-meter python. Anacondas also eat their own kind without the slightest remorse - survival of the fittest.
There is a misconception that the largest snake in the world flattens its victims, breaking bones and damaging internal organs. This is wrong. The anaconda's embrace is not aimed at breaking and injuring its food - it is enough for it that the victim's access to oxygen is completely blocked by immobilizing the chest and the entire body, so that all animals caught by the anaconda die from suffocation.
There is virtually no threat to an adult anaconda in the wild - only a few jaguars and caimans can handle it, but this happens very rarely. Young individuals die en masse from the teeth of a variety of predators.
The largest snake in the world is often mentioned in many books and even became the main negative “character” of a whole series of Hollywood thrillers of the same name.
Anaconda is a snake from a separate genus of anacondas, the subfamily of boas, the order of squamates, the class of reptiles.
Along with the python and the boa constrictor, the anaconda is one of the largest snakes in the world, measuring 5 to 6 meters in length and weighing about 100 kg. The largest currently known is about 9 meters long and weighs 130 kg.
The civilized world relatively recently learned about the existence of the anaconda - this viviparous snake that lives in the jungles of South America.
Lifestyle and habitat
The anaconda lives in the remote, inaccessible jungles of the tropical part of South America in Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, northeastern Peru, Ecuador and northern Bolivia, eastern Paraguay and Guyana, French Guiana and the island of Trinidad, and it has not been studied at all so long ago. People learned basic information about this large snake only in 1992, when biologist Jesus Rivas and a group of scientists studied the anaconda in its habitat, near Venezuela.
The anaconda's body is designed in such a way that, with a body thickness of 14-15 cm, it swallows quite large prey whole, and then its body stretches to the size of the animal it swallowed. The coloring of these snakes is varied and depends on the species. There are grayish-green ones, there are yellow ones, light brown ones and almost dark ones. The skin is scaly with rounded darker spots arranged in a checkerboard pattern. This coloring helps the anaconda to camouflage itself well among coastal plants and algae.
The anaconda is ideally suited to life in water. Her long, powerful body, consisting only of muscles, writhing in the water like a powerful propeller, gives her the ability to swim quickly both on the surface of the water and in the depths. Moreover, when it swims, its eyes and nostrils remain on the surface like those of crocodiles, and when immersed in water, the nostrils are closed with special valves. Her eyes, covered with a transparent protective film, remain open under water, and she sees everything even in muddy water. The ability to slow down the heartbeat, while consuming less oxygen, allows her to stay under water for a long time.
The anaconda is a carnivorous predator and feeds only on animal food. Eats everything it comes across. These include wild animals: tapirs, peccaries, turtles, small crocodiles and waterfowl. It often attacks domestic animals coming to a watering hole: sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, geese, ducks and even dogs. It can hunt both in water and on land. In the water, the anaconda usually lies hidden, waits for the victim, and when it is close, it rushes at it. In other cases, having good hearing, an anaconda, while under water, can hear the sounds of animals coming to drink a hundred meters away, quietly swim up, and then rush at an unsuspecting animal with a lightning-fast throw. While on land, these cunning snakes can hide on the path leading to a watering hole, or position themselves on thick, low-lying tree branches and, when the animal approaches, rush at them.
The anaconda has no fangs or chewing teeth; it doesn’t need them. But a continuous row of teeth located almost at the same level works like a powerful vice. Once in such a vice, not a single creature will be able to escape. Holding its prey, the anaconda wraps its body around it in multiple rings and strangles it until the victim stops breathing. After this, the anaconda swallows the prey whole, wearing it like a stocking on a leg, stretching its mouth and throat. After this, the loaded anaconda looks for a secluded place and lies down for several days digesting food. One such serving of anaconda is enough for several weeks. After which she goes hunting again. These snakes do not take into account kinship; they can devour each other.
When the anaconda is well-fed, it loves to bask in the sun, exposing its round sides to it. By this, it kind of warms up the blood, because like all reptiles it is a cold-blooded creature. But it does not crawl far from the reservoir and soon plunges into the water. If during the dry season the lake suddenly dries up, it tries to find a new body of water or buries itself in the mud and bottom silt, going into a suspended state in which it remains until the first rains.
The anaconda leads an isolated, solitary lifestyle, but during the mating season these snakes gather in groups to mate. Females are larger in size than males. Anaconda gives birth to live baby snakes. 7-8 months after the mating events, the female gives birth to up to forty or more small anacondas 50-80 cm long. Immediately after birth, the cubs are able to swim and get their own food. However, they often become prey for many animals and birds and quite a few survive.
Rarely does anyone decide to attack an adult anaconda, so the anaconda has practically no enemies among animals in nature. Who wants to fight with this big snake, which also has incredible strength? After all, the weight of a nine-meter anaconda can reach up to 200 kg! A snake of this size can easily handle a small cow. What can we say about a pig or a dog!
Having such an impressive size, the anaconda is able to move silently and remain unnoticed. In the places where it lives, residents of these areas show caution and attentiveness, believing that the anaconda can attack and kill. Cases of attack are very rare and fall into the exceptional category. As observations show, the anaconda, like all other snakes, sensing the approach of a person, hurries to move away in the other direction. The stories of some eyewitnesses about meeting them with anacondas with a body length of 12 meters or more can be considered an exaggeration. There are also fabulous stories about the hypnotic abilities of the anaconda, which supposedly hypnotizes its victim with its gaze.
The anaconda is still considered a little studied reptile. In many countries, for the purpose of study, they are kept in serpentariums, where they are under constant supervision. There are several cases of anacondas breeding in captivity. The lifespan of anacondas in natural conditions has not been established, but in terrariums they live up to 20 years.
Types of anaconda
There are currently four known species: Green, Yellow, Dark and Bolivian. They all lead a generally similar lifestyle, the differences being mainly in their size, color and habitats.
Green or giant anaconda, lat. Eunectes murinus. It is the largest of all. Its length can be more than 9 meters. It is especially common in the Amazon basin in Brazil, and in the vicinity of the Orinoco River in Colombia. Often found in the Llanos grasslands in Venezuela, Ecuador and Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia, Guiana and Peru. Green anacondas have been seen occasionally in Florida. The color of this anaconda is green-olive on the back, yellowish on the belly. There are dark, sometimes almost black spots on the back and sides. The scales of the skin are large in front, decreasing towards the tail.
Paraguayan or yellow anaconda, lat. Eunectes notaeus. Second in size after green. There are individuals reaching a length of 4.5 meters. They live in Paraguay, Northern Argentina, and are found in Bolivia. The yellow anaconda usually chooses places with high humidity: small lakes, swamps, overgrown banks of small rivers and streams. Often found in seasonally flooded areas. It feeds on fish, turtles, lizards, small caimans, and waterfowl. Sometimes he steals bird eggs. Paraguayan anaconda snake is a solitary snake. A pair is formed only in April - May. It is the object of intensive hunting because of its beautiful skin, which is used for haberdashery, as well as its meat, which is considered a delicacy.
Dark anaconda or Deschauensei's Anaconda, lat. Eunectes deschauenseei. It lives in the northern regions of Brazil, on the coast of French Guiana, and is found in Guyana. Relatively small in size compared to others. Usually its length is slightly less than 2 meters, but some individuals up to 4 meters or more have been encountered. It prefers to settle in hard-to-reach places, so it has been little studied.
Lat. Eunectes beniensis or Beni's anaconda is a medium-sized boa constrictor, usually about 4 meters in length. It lives in tropical forests in the Beni River valley in Bolivia. Anaconda Beni is a rare species, not common in other regions of South America, so it became known only in 2002. Scientists have not yet decided whether to consider it a separate species or classify it as a Paraguayan anaconda.
The anaconda, like all boas, is still a mysterious creature that people view negatively and consider it one of the most dangerous and unpredictable predators. Even the origin of its name is still controversial. It is believed that the name “anaconda” appeared in South America from the Tamil phrase “copra” - which means killer, and “yanei” - elephant. In other versions, this word is translated as lightning barrel and others. All these names came from the homeland of these snakes. The largest anaconda in the world, 11.43 m long, was caught in the wetlands of Colombia. At the moment, a green anaconda lives at the New York Zoological Society, about 9 meters in length and weighing 130 kg.
Difference from boas and pythons
Despite the general external similarity, the anaconda differs from other types of boas and from pythons. All these snakes belong to the order Scaly, but the boa constrictor is a member of the pseudopod family, and the python is from the python family. All of them are non-poisonous and use one method of absorption of food, swallowing prey whole. Boa constrictors live primarily in Europe and Asia, although they are found in Madagascar, the Fiji Islands and New Guinea. There are about 60 species of them. This is what an emerald boa constrictor looks like.
Water boas live only in South America; these are all four types of anacondas listed above: green, Bolivian, Paraguayan and dark.
Pythons live in Asian countries, India, China and Indochina, Australia, Indonesia and the Philippine Islands. There are about 22 species in total. The largest of them is the reticulated python. The largest currently known in the Japanese Zoological Garden, its length is 12.2 m and its weight is more than 200 kg.
A significant difference between pythons and boas is reproduction. Boas give birth to live young, while pythons lay eggs, which then hatch into young. Both boas and pythons, like most reptiles, are slow creatures in normal conditions, but during a hunt they rush at the prey almost with lightning speed. They have developed night vision and a good sense of smell. In addition, they have the property of thermolocation, thanks to which they detect a living creature in the dark.
In recent years, quite a lot of lovers of exotic animals have appeared, which they keep at home. These also include pythons, boa constrictors and anacondas, which are kept in special terrariums. Although it is not uncommon for these huge snakes to break free and cause a lot of trouble. In some Asian countries, such as India, Thailand, Cambodia, local residents tame these huge snakes. They keep them in basements and provide them with food. Getting used to their owners and taking root in the house, these snakes protect the home from poisonous snakes, scorpions, phalanges, rats and other wild animals. A house that has its own python usually costs significantly more. Be that as it may, despite their negative characteristics and the generally negative attitude of people towards them, we have to admit that anacondas, as equals, occupy a certain place among other representatives of the flora of the earth.
Anaconda is a snake from a separate genus of anacondas, the subfamily of boas, the order of squamates, the class of reptiles.
Along with the python and the boa constrictor, the anaconda is one of the largest snakes in the world, measuring 5 to 6 meters in length and weighing about 100 kg. The largest currently known is about 9 meters long and weighs 130 kg.
The civilized world relatively recently learned about the existence of the anaconda - this viviparous snake that lives in the jungles of South America.
Lifestyle and habitat
The anaconda lives in the remote, inaccessible jungles of the tropical part of South America in Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, northeastern Peru, Ecuador and northern Bolivia, eastern Paraguay and Guyana, French Guiana and the island of Trinidad, and it has not been studied at all so long ago. People learned basic information about this large snake only in 1992, when biologist Jesus Rivas and a group of scientists studied the anaconda in its habitat, near Venezuela.
The anaconda's body is designed in such a way that, with a body thickness of 14-15 cm, it swallows quite large prey whole, and then its body stretches to the size of the animal it swallowed. The coloring of these snakes is varied and depends on the species. There are grayish-green ones, there are yellow ones, light brown ones and almost dark ones. The skin is scaly with rounded darker spots arranged in a checkerboard pattern. This coloring helps the anaconda to camouflage itself well among coastal plants and algae.
The anaconda is ideally suited to life in water. Her long, powerful body, consisting only of muscles, writhing in the water like a powerful propeller, gives her the ability to swim quickly both on the surface of the water and in the depths. Moreover, when it swims, its eyes and nostrils remain on the surface like those of crocodiles, and when immersed in water, the nostrils are closed with special valves. Her eyes, covered with a transparent protective film, remain open under water, and she sees everything even in muddy water. The ability to slow down the heartbeat, while consuming less oxygen, allows her to stay under water for a long time.
The anaconda is a carnivorous predator and feeds only on animal food. Eats everything it comes across. These include wild animals: tapirs, peccaries, turtles, small crocodiles and waterfowl. It often attacks domestic animals coming to a watering hole: sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, geese, ducks and even dogs. It can hunt both in water and on land. In the water, the anaconda usually lies hidden, waits for the victim, and when it is close, it rushes at it. In other cases, having good hearing, an anaconda, while under water, can hear the sounds of animals coming to drink a hundred meters away, quietly swim up, and then rush at an unsuspecting animal with a lightning-fast throw. While on land, these cunning snakes can hide on the path leading to a watering hole, or position themselves on thick, low-lying tree branches and, when the animal approaches, rush at them.
The anaconda has no fangs or chewing teeth; it doesn’t need them. But a continuous row of teeth located almost at the same level works like a powerful vice. Once in such a vice, not a single creature will be able to escape. Holding its prey, the anaconda wraps its body around it in multiple rings and strangles it until the victim stops breathing. After this, the anaconda swallows the prey whole, wearing it like a stocking on a leg, stretching its mouth and throat. After this, the loaded anaconda looks for a secluded place and lies down for several days digesting food. One such serving of anaconda is enough for several weeks. After which she goes hunting again. These snakes do not take into account kinship; they can devour each other.
When the anaconda is well-fed, it loves to bask in the sun, exposing its round sides to it. By this, it kind of warms up the blood, because like all reptiles it is a cold-blooded creature. But it does not crawl far from the reservoir and soon plunges into the water. If during the dry season the lake suddenly dries up, it tries to find a new body of water or buries itself in the mud and bottom silt, going into a suspended state in which it remains until the first rains.
The anaconda leads an isolated, solitary lifestyle, but during the mating season these snakes gather in groups to mate. Females are larger in size than males. Anaconda gives birth to live baby snakes. 7-8 months after the mating events, the female gives birth to up to forty or more small anacondas 50-80 cm long. Immediately after birth, the cubs are able to swim and get their own food. However, they often become prey for many animals and birds and quite a few survive.
Rarely does anyone decide to attack an adult anaconda, so the anaconda has practically no enemies among animals in nature. Who wants to fight with this big snake, which also has incredible strength? After all, the weight of a nine-meter anaconda can reach up to 200 kg! A snake of this size can easily handle a small cow. What can we say about a pig or a dog!
Having such an impressive size, the anaconda is able to move silently and remain unnoticed. In the places where it lives, residents of these areas show caution and attentiveness, believing that the anaconda can attack and kill. Cases of attack are very rare and fall into the exceptional category. As observations show, the anaconda, like all other snakes, sensing the approach of a person, hurries to move away in the other direction. The stories of some eyewitnesses about meeting them with anacondas with a body length of 12 meters or more can be considered an exaggeration. There are also fabulous stories about the hypnotic abilities of the anaconda, which supposedly hypnotizes its victim with its gaze.
The anaconda is still considered a little studied reptile. In many countries, for the purpose of study, they are kept in serpentariums, where they are under constant supervision. There are several cases of anacondas breeding in captivity. The lifespan of anacondas in natural conditions has not been established, but in terrariums they live up to 20 years.
Types of anaconda
There are currently four known species: Green, Yellow, Dark and Bolivian. They all lead a generally similar lifestyle, the differences being mainly in their size, color and habitats.
Green or giant anaconda, lat. Eunectes murinus. It is the largest of all. Its length can be more than 9 meters. It is especially common in the Amazon basin in Brazil, and in the vicinity of the Orinoco River in Colombia. Often found in the Llanos grasslands in Venezuela, Ecuador and Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia, Guiana and Peru. Green anacondas have been seen occasionally in Florida. The color of this anaconda is green-olive on the back, yellowish on the belly. There are dark, sometimes almost black spots on the back and sides. The scales of the skin are large in front, decreasing towards the tail.
Paraguayan or yellow anaconda, lat. Eunectes notaeus. Second in size after green. There are individuals reaching a length of 4.5 meters. They live in Paraguay, Northern Argentina, and are found in Bolivia. The yellow anaconda usually chooses places with high humidity: small lakes, swamps, overgrown banks of small rivers and streams. Often found in seasonally flooded areas. It feeds on fish, turtles, lizards, small caimans, and waterfowl. Sometimes he steals bird eggs. Paraguayan anaconda snake is a solitary snake. A pair is formed only in April - May. It is the object of intensive hunting because of its beautiful skin, which is used for haberdashery, as well as its meat, which is considered a delicacy.
Dark anaconda or Deschauensei's Anaconda, lat. Eunectes deschauenseei. It lives in the northern regions of Brazil, on the coast of French Guiana, and is found in Guyana. Relatively small in size compared to others. Usually its length is slightly less than 2 meters, but some individuals up to 4 meters or more have been encountered. It prefers to settle in hard-to-reach places, so it has been little studied.
Lat. Eunectes beniensis or Beni's anaconda is a medium-sized boa constrictor, usually about 4 meters in length. It lives in tropical forests in the Beni River valley in Bolivia. Anaconda Beni is a rare species, not common in other regions of South America, so it became known only in 2002. Scientists have not yet decided whether to consider it a separate species or classify it as a Paraguayan anaconda.
The anaconda, like all boas, is still a mysterious creature that people view negatively and consider it one of the most dangerous and unpredictable predators. Even the origin of its name is still controversial. It is believed that the name “anaconda” appeared in South America from the Tamil phrase “copra” - which means killer, and “yanei” - elephant. In other versions, this word is translated as lightning barrel and others. All these names came from the homeland of these snakes. The largest anaconda in the world, 11.43 m long, was caught in the wetlands of Colombia. At the moment, a green anaconda lives at the New York Zoological Society, about 9 meters in length and weighing 130 kg.
Difference from boas and pythons
Despite the general external similarity, the anaconda differs from other types of boas and from pythons. All these snakes belong to the order Scaly, but the boa constrictor is a member of the pseudopod family, and the python is from the python family. All of them are non-poisonous and use one method of absorption of food, swallowing prey whole. Boa constrictors live primarily in Europe and Asia, although they are found in Madagascar, the Fiji Islands and New Guinea. There are about 60 species of them. This is what an emerald boa constrictor looks like.
Water boas live only in South America; these are all four types of anacondas listed above: green, Bolivian, Paraguayan and dark.
Pythons live in Asian countries, India, China and Indochina, Australia, Indonesia and the Philippine Islands. There are about 22 species in total. The largest of them is the reticulated python. The largest currently known in the Japanese Zoological Garden, its length is 12.2 m and its weight is more than 200 kg.
A significant difference between pythons and boas is reproduction. Boas give birth to live young, while pythons lay eggs, which then hatch into young. Both boas and pythons, like most reptiles, are slow creatures in normal conditions, but during a hunt they rush at the prey almost with lightning speed. They have developed night vision and a good sense of smell. In addition, they have the property of thermolocation, thanks to which they detect a living creature in the dark.
In recent years, quite a lot of lovers of exotic animals have appeared, which they keep at home. These also include pythons, boa constrictors and anacondas, which are kept in special terrariums. Although it is not uncommon for these huge snakes to break free and cause a lot of trouble. In some Asian countries, such as India, Thailand, Cambodia, local residents tame these huge snakes. They keep them in basements and provide them with food. Getting used to their owners and taking root in the house, these snakes protect the home from poisonous snakes, scorpions, phalanges, rats and other wild animals. A house that has its own python usually costs significantly more. Be that as it may, despite their negative characteristics and the generally negative attitude of people towards them, we have to admit that anacondas, as equals, occupy a certain place among other representatives of the flora of the earth.
Anaconda (water boa) is a large non-venomous snake, belongs to the class reptiles, order Scaly, suborder of snakes, infraorder of lower snakes, family of pseudopods, subfamily, genus of anaconda ( Eunectes).
According to etymologists, the name of the snake originates from the Sinhalese language and comes from the word “henakandaya”, meaning “rattlesnake”. Another version says that the anaconda got its name from a Tamil word that sounds similar to the word “anaconda,” which translates as “elephant killer.” In the scientific classification, the genus name sounds like Eunectes, which in Latin means “good swimmer.”
Anaconda - description and characteristics. What does an anaconda look like?
The anaconda is a very large snake, with females being much larger than males. In accordance with scientifically confirmed data, the largest female anaconda was caught in Venezuela: the length of the anaconda was 5 meters 21 centimeters including the tail, and the body weight was 97.5 kilograms. Some scientists regard rumors about the capture of anacondas 9-11 m long as false. Although Soviet books indicate a different maximum length of this snake - 11.43 meters (Akimushkin I. “Animal World”, “Life of Animals” edited by Zenkevich, vol. 4, part 2).
Like all reptiles, the axial skeleton of the anaconda is divided into a body and a tail, consisting of vertebrae, the number of which can be 435 pieces.
The snake's ribs are mobile and diverge widely when swallowing large prey.
The anaconda skull is distinguished by a movable articulation of bones connected by elastic ligaments.
Thanks to this feature, the snake has the ability to open its mouth very wide, swallowing large prey whole.
The nostrils and eyes of the anaconda are located high on the head, thanks to which these snakes, like crocodiles, can breathe and at the same time be completely under water, guarding potential prey.
The snake's eyes are protected by transparent scales (eyelids) and are adapted to track the movement of objects rather than focus images.
Anaconda teeth are long and sharp, but do not contain poison. Therefore, an anaconda bite for a person can be very sensitive, but completely safe.
The snake's tongue is an important olfactory and gustatory organ that is in constant motion.
Due to the absence of mucous glands, the anaconda's skin is dense and dry, shiny due to glossy scales.
The molting of a reptile occurs according to the principle of “a stocking turned inside out” - the snake sheds a single layer at a time.
The body of the anaconda is uniformly colored grayish-green, yellowish or olive in color.
There are 2 rows of large dark spots along the spine - a classic example of camouflage that perfectly hides the snake against the background of the water surface and dark aquatic vegetation.
How long does an anaconda live?
Like most large snakes (and boa constrictors), anacondas grow throughout their entire life cycle, especially rapidly in the first years, and much more slowly when mature. It is not known exactly how long an anaconda lives in natural conditions, but in captivity the average age of a snake is 5-6 years. The maximum recorded lifespan of an anaconda was 28 years.
Where does the anaconda live?
Anacondas live on the island of Trinidad, as well as throughout the tropics of South America: the range covers countries such as Venezuela and Peru, Brazil and eastern Paraguay, Ecuador, northern Bolivia, Colombia, Guyana and Guiana. Typical environments where the anaconda lives are quiet river beds with weak currents, river backwaters and swamps. If the reservoir dries up, the anaconda snake moves lower along the river bed or buries itself in the silt and goes into suspended animation until the rainy season.
These huge snakes are excellent swimmers, because they spend almost their entire lives in the water, occasionally crawling ashore to bask in the sun, or climb trees, wrapping their body rings around the lower branches.
What does an anaconda eat?
At the bottom of the river, the anaconda sheds its old skin, hunts there or lies in wait for prey near the shore. The anaconda is a non-venomous snake, and it is characterized by a hunting method characteristic of all boa constrictors: the snake motionlessly guards its prey, and then makes a sharp lunge, wraps its muscular body around the victim and strangles it. But it does not crush or break the animal’s bones, as boa constrictors usually do. As a result, the anaconda's victim dies from suffocation. The snake can also grab prey with its teeth.
The anaconda feeds on various species of mammals and reptiles; fish occupies the least significant part of the snake’s menu.
Its food is agoutis, iguanas and others, waterfowl, as well as some large animals: capybaras, peccaries, young caimans, capybaras, tupinambis and, including quite large pythons.
Anacondas, which are picky eaters, practice cannibalism. Also, small domestic animals often become victims of giant snakes:, and.
Despite the powerful stomach acids, large food is digested for several weeks, leaving a significant supply of nutrients and energy in the reptile’s body. Thanks to this feature, anaconda snakes are by no means voracious and can go completely without food for a long time.
Anaconda - photos, types and names
The anaconda genus includes 4 modern species of snakes:
- Giant anaconda (common anaconda, green anaconda)(Eunectes murinus)
the largest species of anaconda with a body length of about 5-6 meters. The body of the snake is gray-green, the back is covered with 2 rows of large brown spots of a round or oval shape, arranged in a checkerboard pattern. Along the side surface of the snake's body there is a series of small yellow round markings with a black border. The giant anaconda lives in the tropical zone of South America from Brazil and Paraguay to Bolivia, Peru and the island of Trinidad. The snake prefers low-flowing, muddy creeks and shallow lakes of the Amazon and Orinoco river basins.
- Paraguayan anaconda, she's the same southern or yellow anaconda(Eunectes notaeus)
has a length of 2 to 4 meters. Most representatives of the species are yellow in color, but there are greenish and gray individuals. The body of the anaconda is decorated with a large pattern of black or brown spots of a round or oblong shape with a light center. The Paraguayan anaconda lives in still or slow-flowing waters of Paraguay, northern Argentina and southern Bolivia.
- Eunectes beniensis
a snake that resembles the Paraguayan anaconda in appearance, and in this regard there is a possibility that this species can be classified as Eunectes notaeus. The length of the anaconda is 4 m, the snakes have a brownish-olive or brown color on the back and a gray-brown-yellow color on the lower part of the body. The pattern is represented by 5 longitudinal dark stripes on the head and hundreds of uniformly dark spots on the back. This species of anaconda inhabits swamps and rainforests in northeastern Bolivia and possibly adjacent areas of Brazil.
- Anaconda Deschauensei(Eunectes deschauenseei)
a rare, little-studied species, whose representatives are distinguished by their relatively small sizes: the length of an adult anaconda is 1.3-1.9 meters. The snake lives in swampy areas in northeastern Brazil and Guiana.