World’s largest snake discovered in Amazon rainforest

Deep in the heart of the Amazon rainforest, scientists have found a huge snake they never knew existed! This super-sized slithery friend, thicker than a car tire and over 8 meters long, was previously undocumented by science and was found by Professor Freek Vonk, a TV wildlife presenter, during an expedition led by National Geographic.

The species was discovered while filming the National Geographic Disney+ series ‘Pole to Pole’ with Will Smith. The snake has been given the scientific name ‘Eunectes akayima’ by researchers. In a video posted on Instagram, Professor Vonk bravely swims alongside the massive anaconda, proudly displaying his discovery. ”The BIGGEST anaconda I’ve ever seen can be seen in the video, as thick as a car tire, eight meters long, and over 200 kg heavy – with a head as big as my head. From total awe and admiration a monster,” he captioned the video.”

As a result of this discovery, the snake has been given the title of the largest and heaviest snake species on the planet.

Contrary to what was previously thought, it has now been found that the Amazon is home to not one, but two distinct species of anaconda. Recent genetic analysis, led by Bryan Fry, a biologist at the University of Queensland, has revealed that the newly identified northern green anaconda diverged from its southern counterpart around 10 million years ago.

”Genetically, the differences are massive. They’re five-and-a-half percent different, genetically. To put that into context, we’re about two percent different from chimps,” explained Bryan Fry, the expedition’s leader, and co-author of the research.

This discovery is pivotal for the conservation of anacondas, which play an important role in maintaining ecological balance as apex predators according to researchers.

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