{{otheruses}}
{{Taxobox
| color = pink
| name = Anaconda
| image = Eunectes_notaeus.jpg
| image_caption = Yellow Anaconda, ''[[Yellow anaconda|Eunectes notaeus]]''
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
| classis = [[Reptile|Reptilia]]
| ordo = [[Squamata]]
| subordo = [[Serpentes]]
| familia = [[Boidae]]
| subfamilia = [[Boinae]]
| genus = '''''Eunectes'''''
| genus_authority = [[Johann Georg Wagler|Wagler]], 1830
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
''E. beniensis''<br>
''E. deschauenseei''<br>
''E. murinus''<br>
''E. notaeus''
}}

'''Anacondas''' are four [[species]] of aquatic [[boa]] inhabiting the [[swamp]]s and rivers of the dense forests of tropical [[South America]]. The Yellow Anaconda can be found as far south as northern [[Argentina]].

== Etymology ==
There are two possible origins for the word 'anaconda.' It is perhaps an alteration of the [[Sinhalese language|Sinhalese]] word ''henakandaya'', meaning 'whip snake', or alternatively, the [[Tamil language|Tamil]] word ''anaikondran'', which means 'elephant killer'.<ref>{{cite web|title=Online Etymology Dictionary|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=Anaconda&searchmode=none|quote=1768, probably a Latinization of Sinhalese henacandaya "whip snake," lit. "lightning-stem." A name first used in Eng. to name a Ceylonese python, it erroneously was applied to a large S.Amer. boa, called in Brazil sucuriuba. The word is of uncertain origin, and no snake name like it now is found in Sinhalese or Tamil. Another suggestion is that it represents Tamil anaikkonda "having killed an elephant."|publisher=Douglas Harper|year=2001|accessdate=2007-09-01}} </ref> It is unclear how the name originated so far from the snake's native habitat; it is likely due to its vague similarity to the large [[Asia]]n [[Pythonidae|python]]s. Local names for the anaconda in South America include the Spanish term ''matatoro'', meaning 'bull killer', and the Native American terms ''sucuri'' and ''yakumama''. Anacondas as members of the boa family are sometimes called '''water boas'''. The Latin name for Anaconda is ''Eunectes'' (from the Greek "Eυνήκτης", meaning "good swimmer").

== Size ==
There is some debate about the maximum size of anacondas, and there have been unverified claims of enormous snakes alleged to be as long as 30–45 m (98.4–147.6 ft).
According to Lee Krystek,<ref>[http://www.unmuseum.org/bigsnake.htm The Unmuseum: Big Snakes]</ref>
a 1944 petroleum expedition in [[Colombia]] claimed to have measured an 11.43 m (37.5 ft) specimen, but this claim is not regarded as reliable; perhaps a more credible report came from scientist Vincent Roth, who claimed to have shot and killed a 10.3 m (33.8 ft) specimen.

There are some reports from early European [[List of explorers|explorers]] of the South American jungles seeing giant anacondas up to 18.2 m (60 ft) long, and some of the native peoples have reported seeing anacondas up to 15.2 m (50 ft) long,<ref>[http://www.extremescience.com/BiggestSnake.htm Extreme Science: Which is the Biggest Snake?]</ref> but these reports remain unverified.

Another claim of an extraordinary size anaconda was made by adventurer [[Percy Fawcett]]. During his 1906 expedition, Fawcett wrote that he had shot an anaconda that measured some 18.9 m (62 ft) from nose to tail.<ref> [http://www.cryptozoology.com/cryptids/anaconda.php Cryptozoology: Sucuriju Gigante, by Aaron Justice]</ref> Once published, Fawcett’s account was widely ridiculed. Decades later, Belgian zoologist [[Bernard Heuvelmans]] came to Fawcett's defence, arguing that Fawcett's writing was generally honest and reliable.<ref> [http://www.trueauthority.com/cryptozoology/anaconda.htm Section Bernard Heuvelmans]</ref>

Historian [[Mike Dash]] writes<ref>Dash, Mike ''Borderlands: The Ultimate Exploration of the Unknown''; Overlook Press, 2000 ISBN 0-87951-724-7</ref> of claims of still larger anacondas, alleged to be as long as 30–45 m (100–150 ft) — some of the sightings supported with photos (although those photos lack scale). Dash notes that if a 50–60 ft anaconda strains credulity, then a 150 ft long specimen is generally regarded as an outright impossibility.

It should be noted that the Wildlife Conservation Society has, since the early 20th century, offered a large cash reward (currently worth US$50,000) for live delivery of any snake of 30 feet or more in length. The prize has never been claimed. Also, in a study of 1,000 wild anacondas in [[Brazil]], the largest captured was {{convert|17|ft|m}} long.<ref>.[http://ca.encarta.msn.com/encnet/Features/Columns/?article=sciencesnakes The Search for the $50,000 Snake]</ref>

Recently an anaconda snake measuring over six meters and weighing nearly 200 kilos was captured in the backyard of an abandoned house in Parana, Brazil.<ref>http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=71798&videoChannel=4</ref>

==In captivity==
There have been very few instances of anacondas being bred in captivity. In October 2007, the [[New England Aquarium]] in [[Boston]] achieved a breakthrough when it was discovered that one of the aquarium's female anacondas was [[gravid]].<ref name="Yahoo20071018">{{cite news | title =Mass. aquarium houses pregnant anaconda | work =Yahoo! News | language =English | publisher =Yahoo! Inc. | date =[[2007-10-18]] | url =http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071019/ap_on_sc/anaconda_pregnancy_test_1 | accessdate =2007-10-18}}</ref> On January 1st, 2008, fourteen anaconda babies were born at the New England Aquarium. Anacondas, like other boas, give birth to live young.
Their colours are yellow and green.

== References ==
{{reflist|2}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book|author=Bernard Heuvelmans|title=On the Track of Unknown Animals|publisher=Hill and Wang|year=1958|isbn= 0710304986}}

==External links==
*[http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Eunectes_murinus.html Animal Diversity Web: ''Eunectes murinus'' (green anaconda)]

[[Category:Boas]]
[[Category:Fauna of Brazil]]
[[Category:Fauna of the Amazon]]
[[Category:Reptiles of South America]]
[[Category:Fauna of Trinidad and Tobago]]
[[Category:Reptile cryptids]]

[[ar:أناكوندا]]
[[bg:Анаконда]]
[[ca:Anaconda]]
[[da:Anakonda]]
[[de:Anakondas]]
[[es:Eunectes]]
[[eu:Anakonda]]
[[fa:آناکوندا]]
[[fr:Anaconda (animal)]]
[[gd:Anaconda]]
[[gl:Anaconda]]
[[ko:아나콘다]]
[[hr:Anakonde]]
[[id:Anakonda]]
[[it:Eunectes]]
[[he:אנקונדה]]
[[ja:アナコンダ]]
[[no:Anakondaer]]
[[pl:Anakonda]]
[[pt:Anaconda]]
[[ru:Анаконды]]
[[fi:Anakondat]]
[[th:งูอนาคอนดา]]
[[vi:Trăn anaconda]]