Is there anyone who does not know Anaconda and at least some information about it? Anaconda is one of the most famous snakes all over the world. It is widely renowned for its large size and it lives in tropical South America. As a matter of fact, the word “anaconda” refers to a group of snakes, although we always use it to refer to just one species which is the green anaconda that is also known as the common anaconda. Anaconda is scientifically used to refer to a number of aquatic snakes that are large in size and belong to the genus Eunectes. Anaconda is used to refer to the large snakes that constrict their prey, the giant anaconda and the large and aquatic snakes that live in South America including Eunectes beniensis that can be found in Bolivia, Eunectes deschauenseei which is a rare darkly-spotted species that lives in Brazil, Eunectes notaeus which is known as yellow anaconda and small in its size and finally Eunectes murinus which is the most famous species, the largest and is commonly known as the green anaconda. So, Anaconda is not just one species as we all know.
♦ What is Eunectes Murinus?
The name “eunectes murinus” is derived from Greek and Latin words and the Greek meaning of “eunectes” is good swimmer while the Latin meaning of “murinus” is of mice. Anaconda is believed to be a good swimmer and is also thought to chiefly prey on mice and this why it is given these names. Eunectes murinus, green anaconda, common anaconda, water boa and simply anaconda without using additional words are all names used to refer to this famous species. The most common names that are used to refer to this species are anaconda and green anaconda.
♦ What are the characteristics of anaconda?
Anaconda belongs to the boa species and is known to be non-venomous. It lives in South America and is widely renowned for being the heaviest and largest snake species in the world. It is also the 2nd longest snake species in the world after “reticulated python”. Anaconda is extremely long since it can grow until it reaches more than 8.8 meters (29 feet). Anaconda weighs more than 227 kilograms (550 pounds), while it is over 30 centimeters (12 inches) in diameter. Female anacondas are even larger in their size than the male ones which may be strange for some people as the males are usually larger than females.
♦ Where does it prefer to live?
The green anaconda can be found in the tropical rain forests that exist in Amazon, Orinoco basins, streams that move slowly, marshes and swamps. The green anaconda is heavy and slow; however it becomes fast, sleek and stealthy in water which allows it to quickly move in spite of its heavy weight. The green anaconda can wait for prey while being almost completely submerged and covered by water since its nasal openings and even eyes are at the top of its head which allows it to hide under water.
♦ What does it eat?
Anaconda almost eats anything it can catch whether it is small or large including fish, birds, reptiles, mammals, deer, tapirs, caimans, capybaras, jaguars and more. But what about man? There is no strong evidence that anaconda is a man-eater creature. What is stranger about anacondas is that they eat each other and the females are the ones who eat males since they are larger in size and this is scientifically known as cannibalism.