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- Green Anaconda or Green Anaconda
- Bolivian Anaconda or Bolivian Anaconda
- yellow anaconda
- Spotted anaconda
- Anacondas Curiosities
Anacondas belong to the family of pythons, that is, they are constrictor snakes (they kill their prey by suffocating them between their rings). the anaconda are the heaviest snakes in the world, and those in lengths just behind the reticulated python.
Currently there are records of anaconda with 9 meters in length, and 250 kg in weight.However, even older records speak of superior measurements and weights.
If you continue reading this article by the Animal Expert, you will be able to find out the 4 species of anaconda who live in South America.
Green Anaconda or Green Anaconda
THE anaconda-green, Murinus Eunectes, is the largest of the 4 anaconda that live on the South American continent. Females are much larger (more than double) than males, in a very clear example of sexual dimorphism.
Its habitat is the tropical rivers of South America. It is an excellent swimmer that feeds on fish, birds, capybaras, tapirs, marsh rats and eventually jaguars, which in turn are also its main predators.
The color of anaconda-green is dark green with oval black and ocher markings on the flanks. The belly is lighter and at the end of the tail there are yellow and black designs that make each specimen unique.
Bolivian Anaconda or Bolivian Anaconda
THE Bolivian anaconda, Eunectes beniensis, is similar in size and color to anaconda-green. However, the black spots are spaced out and are larger than in green anaconda.
This species of anaconda only lives in the swamps and forests of the low and humid Bolivian lands, more specifically in the uninhabited departments of Pando and Beni. In these places there are flood marshes and savannas without arboreal vegetation.
The common prey of the Bolivian anaconda are birds, large rodents, deer, peccaries and fish. This anaconda is not in danger of extinction.
yellow anaconda
THE yellow anaconda, Eunectes Notaeus, is much smaller than the green anaconda and the Bolivian anaconda. Females usually do not exceed 4 meters, with a weight of 40 kg, although there are old records that ensure the existence of specimens of 7 meters.
The color differs from other anaconda, it is a yellowish and green tone. However, black oval spots and the belly of a paler shade of belly are common to all of them.
The yellow anaconda feeds on wild pigs, birds, deer, marsh rat, capybaras and fish. Its habitat are mangroves, streams, slow-moving rivers and vegetated sand banks. The situation of the yellow anaconda is threatening, as it is subject to poaching as food due to its meat and skin.
A curiosity of this type of anaconda is that in indigenous towns it is common to have a live anaconda among them to rid them of rodents. Hence the deduction that they are not afraid of being attacked by this great snake.
Spotted anaconda
THE spotted anaconda, Eunectes deschauenseei, is smaller than the Bolivian anaconda and the green anaconda. They are usually more than 4 meters in length. Its color is yellowish with a profusion of black spots and stripes. Its belly is yellowish or creamy.
It is spread over a wide region that covers the northeast of Brazil, French Guiana and Suriname. It inhabits swamps, lakes and mangroves. Specimens are found from sea level to 300 meters in altitude.
Its diet is based on capybaras, peccaries, birds, fish and, exceptionally, also on small caimans, since the small trucks attack the anacondas to eat them.
The destruction of its habitat by farms and the killing by cattle raisers to protect their livestock have made this species disappear, currently in a state of threat.
Anacondas Curiosities
- Anacondas have enormous sexual dimorphism, as females measure and weigh more than twice as much as males.
- In times of scarcity of hunting females eat the males.
- Anacondas are viviparous, that is, don't lay eggs. They give birth to small anaconda capable of hunting from day one.
- the anaconda are great swimmers and the elevated disposition of their nostrils and eyes, allows them to approach their prey with the body totally submerged. A vigorous prey bite and a swift entanglement around the victim's body is their usual form of hunting. after killing the prey swallow it at once and whole. Another form of hunting is to let themselves fall from a tree onto their prey, which on many occasions kills with a tremendous blow due to their great weight.
