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Animal profile

Green Anaconda

Eunectes murinus

ReptiliaSlow-moving rivers, swamps, flooded grassland and seasonal wetlandsLeast Concern

Field profile

The green anaconda is the heaviest snake in the world, a semi-aquatic boid that spends most of its life in shallow water. Its eyes and nostrils sit high on the head so it can watch and breathe while almost fully submerged. Females are dramatically larger than males.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2023-05-14

Green Anaconda

Female anacondas dwarf the males that court them

In green anacondas the female can be several times the mass of a male. Dozens of males may coil around a single female in a breeding ball that lasts for weeks, and the female sometimes eats one of them.

Read with evidence →

Green Anaconda | Daily Animal Facts