Out of the 4 species of anaconda found in the world, 3 are found in Brazil; Get to know them all and watch the video | Mato Grosso do Sul

Juliana Terra, PhD in ecology from the University of São Paulo (USP) and coordinator of a project aimed at anacondas in the Bonito (MS) region, explains that although the four species have their own characteristics, they all share some common characteristics. are they:

• Eunectes murinus (green juices)
• Eunectes notaeus (yellow juices)
• Eunectes beniensis (dough juices)
• Eunectes deschauenseei (anaconda mottled)

“There are always these species associated with aquatic environments, where they perform their activities such as hunting and breeding, among other things. So much so that the genus of anacondas is Eunectes, a Greek word. If you separate ‘I’, it means good and easy, and ‘Nectes’ means swimmer. That is, he is a good swimmer,” explains Juliana.

green juices – Eunectes murinus

Eunectes murinus is known as the true anaconda, but specifically as the green anaconda, because the background color has an olive green hue. This shade can be a little darker or a little lighter, going up to brown.

“It is the type of anaconda that contains the most information available to date. It has a wide geographical distribution and can be found widely in South America in countries such as Venezuela, Colombia, Paraguay, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, French Guiana, Suriname and Brazil”, confirms Juliana.

Also, according to the expert, green anacondas are not often found in southern South America, where Paraguay is likely to be the southern limit of their distribution. An interesting feature of the species is the mating system.

“Mating is completely different. It is a system of polyandry and aggregation, called the breeding cake, that is, a female releases a pheromone that attracts one or more males. They find females through chemical reception and can stay with up to 10 more males in the cake. Because females are larger With so many males, people often confuse males in the breeding cake with chicks, thinking they are a nest, when in fact they are breeding adults.” Juliana says.

The green anaconda is heavy and long, and is also the largest of the anaconda species in existence. Males can reach an average of 3.5 meters in length, while adult females can reach 5 meters. In rare cases, it can reach larger sizes of up to 6 meters.

“Because of the huge and large size of the females, they always seem to be larger than them. They all have sexual dimorphism, meaning that the males are always smaller than the females,” Juliana says.

For food, large adult females can feed on medium-sized mammals. For males, waterfowl are important food resources.

yellow juices – Eunectes notaeus

The yellow anaconda, also known as the anaconda pantanal, has the scientific name Eunectes notaeus, because of its yellow background. The species occurs in wetlands in the basins of the Paraguay and Parana rivers.

“In the Paraguay Basin, it is found in the Pantanal, which covers Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso, as well as Paraguay and Bolivia. However, in the Parana Basin, it can be found in the wetlands of Argentina,” says Juliana.

According to the specialist, it is a type that is considered large. Females can reach a maximum length of 4 meters and about 2.5 meters for males. Females can also feed on medium-sized animals, and waterfowl are prey that both sexes consume.

Bucket juices – Eunectes beniensis

Sucuri de bene, which has a scientific name Eunectes beniensis, identified because of the place where it was first seen, in the province of Beni, in Bolivia, and, soon after, in the same country, in the department of Pando.

The morphology is between the two previous types (yellow and green anaconda). So much so that the first individuals were considered hybrids of the two species. It is a little-studied snake and therefore very little basic information is known about the biology of this animal.

As for the size, the species are considered to be medium in size. Adult males are about 2 meters long and females about 3 meters.

spotted anaconda – Eunectes deschauenseei

In Brazil, the spotted anaconda, Eunectes deschauenseei, They are found in the seasonally flooded areas of the state of Pará, Ella de Marajo, Santarém and Amapa, in the lower Amazon. In addition to Brazil, it can be found in French Guiana.

In terms of morphology, it is located between yellow and green anacondas, slightly more similar to yellow. This, along with Sucuri de bene, is another species that has been little studied. Most of the information found is from field notes:

Juliana stresses that “basic information about the natural history of the species is not available, such as diet, activity, reproduction and use of the environment. All this basic information is very important to be evaluated in conservation plans, for example.”

Of the four types of anacondas, this is perhaps the smallest of them all. Males barely reach 2 meters and females about 3 meters.

Watch more anaconda episodes across Brazil: