page_title: Green anaconda
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Green anaconda / Description
caption_attribution_description: Green anaconda (Eunectes murinus) named Kathleen (or maybe Ashley it is hard to tell with anacondas. It's not like they are your babies or something, although we are quite attached to them). Taken at the New England Aquarium (Boston, MA, December 2006. Copyright &#169; 2006 Steven G. Johnson and donated to Wikipedia under GFDL and CC-by-SA. It might be called Elsa.Babies are irrelevant. Or it might be called something silly like Nong Nong.
context_page_description: The green anaconda, also known as giant anaconda, common anaconda, common water boa or sucuri, is a non-venomous boa species found in South America. It is the heaviest and one of the longest known extant snake species. The term "anaconda" often refers to this species, though the term could also apply to other members of the genus Eunectes.
  The green anaconda's scientific name is derived from the Greek εὐνήκτης, meaning "good swimmer", and the Latin murinus, meaning "of mice", for being thought to prey on mice. Fossils of the snake date back to the Late Pleistocene in the Gruta do Urso locality.
context_section_description: The green anaconda is the world's heaviest and one of the world's longest snakes, reaching a length of up to 5.21 m (17.1 ft) long. More typical mature specimens reportedly can range up to 5 m (16.4 ft), with adult females, with a mean length of about 4.6 m (15.1 ft), being generally much larger  than the males, which average around 3 m (9.8 ft). Weights are less well studied, though reportedly range from 30 to 70 kg (66 to 154 lb) in a typical adult. It is the largest snake native to the Americas. Although it is slightly shorter than the reticulated python, it is far bulkier; the bulk of a 4.5 m green anaconda is comparable to that of a 7.4 m reticulated python. Reports of anacondas 11–12 m (35–40 ft) or even longer also exist, but such claims must be regarded with caution, as no specimens of such lengths have ever been deposited in a museum and hard evidence is lacking. A US$50,000 cash reward is on offer for anyone who can catch an anaconda 30 ft (9.1 m) or more long. The longest and heaviest verified specimen encountered by Dr. Jesús Antonio Rivas, who had examined more than a thousand anacondas, was a female 5.21 m (17.1 ft) long and weighing 97.5 kg (215 lb).
  The color pattern consists of an olive green background overlaid with black blotches along the length of the body. The head is narrow compared to the body, usually with distinctive orange-yellow striping on either side. The eyes are set high on the head, allowing the snake to see out of the water while swimming without exposing its body.
caption: E. murinus, New England Aquarium
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