An international team of herpetologists led by New Mexico Highlands University and University of Queensland scientists has described a cryptic new species of anaconda from the remote Amazon.
Anacondas (genus Eunectes) are a group of aquatic snakes endemic to the east of the Andes in South America.
These large-bodied snakes inhabit lowland rivers and wetlands; they have the typical adaptations for an aquatic lifestyle, such as nostrils and eyes located dorsally on the head, and displaying a dorsal coloration and pattern that blend well with the aquatic vegetation.
Before this study, four species were recognized in the genus, with Eunectes murinus representing a sister lineage to a group composed of Eunectes beniensis, Eunectes deschauenseei, and Eunectes notaeus.
The largest of these species, Eunectes murinus, or the green anaconda, occurs in most of the tropical regions of the continent, including the basins of the Amazon, Esequibo, and Orinoco rivers, and several smaller watersheds.
The other three species are smaller than Eunectes murinus and are distributed within or adjacent to the distribution of Eunectes murinus.
The recently-described species Eunectes beniensis, or the Beni anaconda, has a distribution restricted to the Beni region of Bolivia.
Eunectes deschauenseei, or the dark spotted anaconda, is distributed in the northeast of the continent. It is found from the Amazon River delta in Brazil to French Guiana and possibly Suriname.
Eunectes notaeus, or the yellow anaconda, has a distribution to the south of Eunectes murinus including the Pantanal, Chaco, and other hyper-seasonal areas of tropical and subtropical South America including Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, and Uruguay.
“Our team received a rare invitation from the Waorani people to explore the region and collect samples from a population of anacondas, rumoured to be the largest in existence,” said University of Queensland’s Professor Bryan Fry, co-lead author of the…
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