Introduction
Kingdom: Animalia
Class: Reptillia
Family: Boidae
Species: Eunectes Murinus
The Green Anaconda is the largest snake in the world. Being a member of the boa family it is a constrictor and lives in
Characteristics
Green Anacondas are dark green with black spots.The spots on its side have yellow centres. An Anaconda is a carnivore and is a reptile of the boa family. It can live up to 10 years in the wild. The Green Anaconda is the largest snake in the world measuring up to 10 metres in length, 30cm in diameter, and up to 230kg. The largest Anaconda measured was 8.43m and 227kg. The female is larger than the male. Anacondas are slow on land but very sleek and stealthy in the water. Its eyes and nasal openings are on top of its head so it can wait for prey without much of its body out of the water. A Green Anaconda can stay underwater for up to 10 minutes.
Habitat
Green Anacondas live in the Tropical Rainforests of the Amazon and the Orinoco basins of
Diet
Green Anacondas eat Wild Pigs, Deer, Turtles, Birds, Capybaras, Caimans and even Jaguars. It kills its prey by coiling its body around it and constricting it to death. An Anacondas jaws have stretchy ligaments so Anacondas can eat their prey no matter how big it is. Anacondas enemies are humans because they destroy the Anacondas habitat and poachers hunt them. Anacondas can go for weeks without food after a big meal.
Breeding
Green Anacondas reach sexual maturity at 18 months for males and 4 years or more for females. Breeding season is from April to October and gestation is from 115 to 135 days. The females have litters up to 40. Green Anacondas are ovoviviparous which means the eggs hatch while still in the female and it gives birth to live young. In mating some males form a breeding ball around the female that can last up to 4 weeks.
An Anaconda is a great example of a rainforest animal that comes to my mind when I think of a rainforest.
Great description, George
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