They rely on their enormous size and power to subdue their victims.

Some snakes have venom in two specially designed, extra long teeth which they use to kill their prey.Īnacondas have teeth, however, they are not a venomous snake. Most snakes teeth are used for holding onto their prey, preventing them from escaping. Just about every species of snake on earth has teeth, but the Anacondas teeth are not used for chewing. Yellow Anacondas live in mostly aquatic habitats including swamps, marshes and brush covered banks of slow moving rivers and streams. Yellow Anacondas have a yellow/brown base color with black blotches and rosettes. The Yellow Anaconda is smaller than the more well known Green Anaconda and reaches an average adult length of about 3 metres (9.8 feet). The Yellow Anaconda (Eunectes notaeus), is native to South America in countries such as Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, western Brazil and northeast Argentina.

Their eyes are set high on their head so as to allow the snake to be able to see out of the water without exposing the rest of its body. Their head is narrow compared to the rest of the body, with most exhibiting distinctive orange-yellow striping on either side. The primary color of the Green Anaconda is an olive green, with black blotches that run the length of the body. It can weigh 250 kilograms (551 pounds) and have a girth of more than 30 centimetres (11.8 inches) in diameter.įemale anacondas are significantly larger than males, having the largest sexual dimorphism of all the snakes. It rivals the Reticulated Python in length, but is typically considerably heavier. The Green Anaconda is among the largest snakes in the world. The Green Anaconda (Eunectes murinus) is the largest member of the boa family of snakes and the most heavy bodied member of the super-order ‘Squamata’. Some Anacondas, which live in the water, can reach up to 30 feet in length. There is some debate about the maximum size of Anacondas and there have been unverified claims of enormous snakes alleged to be as long as 30 – 45 metres (98.4 – 147.6 feet). The Latin name for Anaconda is ‘Eunectes’ meaning ‘good swimmer’. Anacondas as members of the boa family are sometimes called ‘water boas’. Local names for the Anaconda in South America include the Spanish term ‘matatoro’, meaning ‘bull killer’, and the Native American terms ‘sucuri’ and ‘yakumama’. It is likely due to its vague similarity to the large Asian pythons. It is unclear how the name originated so far from the snakes native habitat.

The Yellow Anaconda can be found as far south as Argentina. Due to their size, green anacondas are one of the few snakes capable of consuming a human, however this is extremely rare.Īt the Smithsonian's National Zoo, the green anaconda eats rats and rabbits about once a month.Anacondas are four species of aquatic boa inhabiting the swamps and rivers of the dense forests of tropical South America. Females will sometimes cannibalize males, especially during breeding season. Adults are able to consume much larger animals, including deer, capybara, caimans and large birds. Juveniles tend to eat fish, birds and small mammals. They are opportunistic apex predators and eat a wide variety of prey. Green anacondas have slow metabolisms, and with the exception of breeding females, only need to eat once every few weeks. Like most snakes, they can detach their jaw to swallow prey much larger then themselves, though they are careful to weigh the risk of injury with large prey. They use their strong jaws to capture their prey, then use their muscular bodies to suffocate the prey before swallowing it whole. As members of the boa family, green anacondas are nonvenomous constrictors. Like all snakes, green anacondas are carnivores.

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