Fawcett, Exploration Fawcett (London: Hutchinson,ġ953), pp. 229-238 Afranio do Amaral, "Serpentes gigantes," Boletim do Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi 10 (1948): 211-237 Percy H. Sources: Algot Lange, In the Amazon Jungle (New York: G. (4) Reports of horns might be caused by protruding eyes, fleshy outgrowths caused by an injury, or barlike markings on the head. (3) An unknown species of anaconda that normally attains such lengths. (2) Field estimates are often unreliable, especially for snakes that are partially submerged.
#GIANT ANACONDA SKIN#
Even a skin that is not stretched can be 10-20 percent longer than the live snake. (1) Skins of normal-sized Anacondas (Eunectes murinus) are often dried and stretched, resulting in a much greater length. Aaron Bauer estimates that Fawcett's 62190 giant anaconda foot snake had to have been at least 30 inches in diameter and spend virtually all its time in the water. After surveying the ratio of minimum adult length to the record length of many snake species, Peter Pritchard has concluded that the maximum length of a snake is 1.5-2.5 times its shortest adult length small anacondas are 10-12 feet long, making the largest theoretical length 30 feet. John Murphy and Robert Henderson point out that enormous snakes have fewer places in which to hide from predators, and their great size would cause problems with maintaining blood pressure in the tail. Present status: The record length for an anaconda of 37 feet 6 inches, reported in 1939 or 1940 by Robert Lamon, is not universally accepted.
In 1977, Amarilho Vincente de Oliveira saw a giant snake with horns and greenish eyes on a tributary of the Rio Purus, Brazil. Size is provided, though three out-of-focus humans can be seen in the background.Īnother photo taken in 1948 or 1949 by Joaquim Alencar shows a huge snake, variously said to be 115 or 147 feet long, floating on the Rio Abuna, Acre State, Brazil. From the National Geographic Society's Scenes from Every Land. No hint of the snake's giant anaconda 189 Large, but not giant, anaconda (Eunectes murinus) at the Bronx Zoo. Its blue-green, phosphorescent eyes were at first mistaken for a riverboat's lights.Ī photo made into a postcard shows a 105-foot snake with shining eyes that was reportedly killed by the Brazilian Boundary Commission on the frontier with Venezuela in 1932. Victor Heinz saw a giant water snake on the Amazon near Alenquer, Brazil, on October 29, 1929. However, its largest diameter was 12 inches, which seems small for the length.įr. Faw-cett shot a 62-foot anaconda on the Rio Abuna, Acre State, Brazil, near the Peruvian border, in January 1907. Tracks: Wide furrow through the swamp, with trees pushed up.ĭistribution: Amazon River basin, Brazil less credible reports are from Argentina, Venezuela, and Guyana. Off-white spots on belly.īehavior: Semiaquatic. Large eyes glow phosphorescent blue at night. Physical description: Length, 40-150 feet. Variant names: Boiúba, Boiúna, Camoodi, Cobra-grande, Controller, Ibibaboka, Lampalagua (in Argentina), Matatora (Spanish, "bull-killer"), Sachamama, Sucuriju gigante (Portuguese, "giant anaconda"), Yaurinka. Individual Snake or a separate species of anaconda of South America that exceeds the accepted length of 30 feet.