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New Delhi: Scientists have discovered a previously undocumented species of giant anaconda in the Amazon which they say can grow up to 7.5m and weighing close to 500kg, making it the largest and heaviest snake yet known in the world.
Until now, four species of anacondas were known, with the largest one – the green anaconda – inhabiting tropical parts of South America such as the basins of the Amazon, Orinoco, and Esequibo rivers, as well as some smaller watersheds.
Green anacondas — also known as giant anacondas — are the world’s heaviest snakes, and among the longest. These olive-colored, black-spotted reptiles are the biggest of the anacondas, with the largest females known to reach upwards of 23 feet long and weigh more than 550 pounds.
The research team studied samples from all anaconda species across nine countries over a 20-year period. Of the samples they analyzed, some of the most crucial “pieces of the puzzle” came from a 2022 expedition to the Bameno region of Baihuaeri Waorani Territory in the Ecuadorian Amazon.
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