iStockphoto / MaRabelo
Two decades of research across South America has revealed that the green anaconda, the species we know to be the largest snake in the world, is actually two separate species.
Previously, science has classified the ‘anaconda’ into 4 separate species: green anaconda, yellow anaconda, dark-spotted anaconda, and the Bolivian anaconda. Of those, the green anaconda is by far the most famous as it’s the largest snake in the world and can grow to 30 feet long while weighing over 550-pounds.
Following nearly 20 years of research, a group of 15 scientists have published a joint paper titled ‘Disentangling the Anacondas: Revealing a New Green Species and Rethinking Yellows’ where they’ve determined the ‘world’s largest snake‘ is actually two genetically distinct species.
Bryan G. Fry, one of the authors on the study, published an article in the non-for-profit publication The Conversation where he says “it’s remarkable this difference has slipped under the radar until now.”
Funnily enough, this detangling of the species involves actor Will Smith who was (is?) apparently filming a Nat Geo series and joined the expedition in 2022 to the Bameno region of Baihuaeri Waorani Territory in the Ecuadorian Amazon.
They surveyed and collected blood + tissue samples from species throughout the region, collecting many samples from the known green anaconda species of Eunectes murinus. This is the species commonly found across Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, and French Guyana.
The expedition also collected tissue and blood samples from the newly distinct species, Eunectes akayima, which is being called the ‘northern green anaconda’ and is found in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and a few other countries.
By analyzing the samples, what the scientists found is the green anaconda diverged into two separate species approximately 10 million years ago and their level of genetic divergence is approximately 5.5%. The authors point out that the genetic divergence between humans and apes is only ~2% so this measurement is huge level of divergence.
So there are 2 species of green anaconda, now what?
Bryan G. Fry from the University of Queensland says now that he and his colleagues have determined there are two distinct species of green anaconda, ‘conservation strategies must now be reassessed’ for the two species.
The two unique species face different threats from “climate change, habitat degradation and pollution” and efforts to preserve each species must be tailored instead of lumped together. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Professor Fry says their “research is also a reminder of the complexities involved in biodiversity conservation. When species go unrecognised, they can slip through the cracks of conservation programs.”
I, for one, hope we get an Anaconda vs Anaconda film starring Ice Cube vs. Ice T at some point. Who says no?
Elsewhere in the world of snakes, a team of researchers in the Florida Keys recently definitively showed for the first time that invasive Burmese pythons are preying on endangered species…