Eunectes murinus

The green anaconda is the heaviest snake in the world and the largest in the Americas, a non-venomous constrictor in the boa family. It is olive green with large black blotches along the body, and the narrow head usually has an orange-yellow stripe on each side. The eyes and nostrils sit high on the head, so it can see and breathe while almost completely submerged. Females are much larger than males. Claims of anacondas much longer than 6m have never been backed by a preserved specimen (Wikipedia, general species account).

It spends most of its time in shallow, slow-moving water or thick vegetation at the water's edge, and is active by day or night. It hunts by ambush, seizing and constricting prey, and its loosely connected jaws let it swallow animals wider than its head. After a big meal it may take many days to digest. Females give birth to live young rather than laying eggs (ReptTraits, Oskyrko et al. 2024; Wikipedia, general species account).

The Catalogue of Life lists the species from northern Bolivia (Beni). Bolivia's Beni lowlands are also home to a separate species, the Beni anaconda (Eunectes beniensis). On this guide the green anaconda is a target species of the Pampas del Yacuma and the Bolivian Pantanal.