The green anaconda, a common aquatic snake found in the Amazon region of South America, is the largest of its kind, reaching up to 21 feet long, experts say.
Researchers initially thought there was only one species of giant snake, but now it has been determined that there are two separate species: the northern green anaconda and the southern green anaconda.
The study, published in the journal MDPI Diversity, used genetic data from four recognized anaconda species from nine countries.
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Explorers and researchers have discovered that the northern blue anaconda is “5.5% genetically different” from its southern relative.
By comparison, there is only a 2% difference between humans and chimpanzees.
A carpenter fly lands on the head of a northern green anaconda in Ecuador’s Yasuní National Park. Recent research has revealed that the blue anaconda is two different species and is more genetically diverse than humans and chimpanzees. (Karine Aigner/Naturepl.com)
Researchers took blood and tissue samples from green anacondas in Ecuador, Venezuela and Brazil to make the discovery, which will be featured in National Geographic’s upcoming series Pole to Pole: With Will Smith. Recorded exclusively for.
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NatGeo reports that the snakes were closely examined to count scales and record other physical characteristics that indicate “evolutionary divergence.”
“It is clear that the Huaorani Islands snake is indeed the largest of all anacondas.”
Study co-author Brian Fry, a National Geographic explorer and biologist at Australia’s University of Queensland, told Fox News Digital in an email that the main species difference is geographic range.
To make their discovery, researchers took blood and tissue samples from blue anacondas in Ecuador (pictured), Venezuela, and Brazil. (Pablo Cozzario/AFP via Getty Images)
The Amazon is made up of two separate basins. the large southern Amazon basin and the “much smaller” northern Orinoco basin.
“The southern anaconda (Eunectes murinus) is found over a vast range spanning Brazil, Bolivia, Peru and parts of French Guiana,” he said.
“In contrast, the newly described northern green anaconda (Eunectes akayima) is restricted to parts of Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad, Venezuela, and French Guiana.”
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Researchers say the new northern green anaconda can also reach larger sizes.
“The rainforests of eastern Ecuador have long been rumored to be home to the largest of all anacondas,” National Geographic’s Pole to Pole series investigates with Will Smith. Until now, this had never been investigated,” Fry said.
“Not only because this area is incredibly remote, but also because it is the autonomous territory of the Huaorani indigenous people.”
A blue anaconda photographed in Mato Grosso state, Brazil. The newly discovered northern green anaconda can reach even larger sizes, researchers have found. (Sylvain Cordier/Gamma Raffo, via Getty Images)
As Fry surveyed his surroundings, he noted that the snake’s size “did not disappoint.”
The largest anaconda they encountered was 6.3 meters long and weighed about 793 pounds.
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“But the Huaorani regularly see much larger snakes,” Fry said. “They have seen snakes that appear to be eight meters long and weigh over 800 kilograms. So it’s clear that the Huaorani land snake is indeed the largest of all anacondas.”
Mr. Fry called the expedition into the Amazon hinterland “a truly cross-cultural endeavor.”
The photo shows a view of the Guama River and the Amazon rainforest in Belém, Brazil, an area involved in the study. (Filipe Bispo Vale/Photo in partnership with Getty Images)
The explorers were invited by Waorani Chief Penti Baihua to enter the Vaihueri Huaorani Territory in the Ecuadorian Amazon for this research.
The invitation was “one of only a few since the tribe first made contact in 1958,” Frye said.
“It was a real honor.”
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Frye and his Huaorani collaborators were recognized as co-authors on the study’s publication in the journal, which Frye considers a “career-defining moment.”
”[It’s] “It’s proof that the natural world still holds wonders,” he said.
Photo of members of the Huaorani Indigenous community during a demonstration in Yasuni National Park in August 2023. Fry was invited by Huaorani Chief Penti Baihua to travel to Baihueri Huaorani Territory in the Ecuadorian Amazon for this research. (Martin Burnetti/AFP via Getty Images)
“The success of this expedition and having the Huaorani as equal partners really emphasizes the essence of what it means to be an explorer,” he added.
Fry said the Amazon offers a “kaleidoscope of challenges and wonders,” including an environment of “dense canopies above, rivers downstream, and snake trails cutting through the darkness of the jungle floor.” He said that
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“Our expedition was marked by unrelenting heat, ubiquitous insect swarms, and a symphony of wild life that swelled into the night,” Fry said.
“There’s nothing I like more than being too hot to wash while wading through a swamp looking for giant snakes.”
A naturalist’s guide to catching anacondas in Venezuela’s Llanos wetlands. (Gilles MARTIN/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
The discovery is also “a stark reminder of the threats facing the Amazon, including deforestation, habitat degradation, climate change, and oil spills, which endanger this new species and the entire ecosystem,” Fry said. continued.
While the discovery was a breakthrough, Fry said the team’s work in the Amazon is “far from complete” as scientists continue to study the effects of oil spills that frequently occur in the region.
“Our expedition was marked by unrelenting heat, ubiquitous insect swarms, and a symphony of wildness that swelled into the night.”
“Our upcoming expeditions will focus on collecting and analyzing soil, water and biological samples, and will employ cutting-edge technology to trace the paths of these contaminants,” he said. Ta.
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