Sentence:  Data on the former are scanty , but there can be little doubt that the latter is sometimes born at a <WSD>length</WSD> greater than that of any of the others , thereby lending support to the belief that the anaconda does , indeed , attain the greatest length . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  the linear extent in space from one end to the other; the longest dimension of something that is fixed in place