Animale
Green anaconda
Eunectes murinus. An aquatic constrictor from tropical South America.
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Eyes and nostrils high on the head allow an anaconda to see and breathe with its body almost submerged. This heavy-bodied snake is closely tied to water. It inhabits tropical South America, especially shallow, slow-moving rivers, flooded areas and seasonally flooded grasslands. Dense vegetation provides cover on land.
Olive colouring and dark oval spots help it hide among wet plants. The anaconda is a constrictor: it catches prey in its mouth, coils around it and swallows it whole. It does not use venom. Young snakes eat fish, birds and small mammals, among other prey. Large females can take much bigger animals, such as capybaras.
Females are considerably larger than males. The species gives birth to live young rather than leaving eggs in a nest. Outside the breeding season, anacondas usually live alone. Draining wetlands and clearing forests reduce the areas where they can find water, cover and food. Preserving shallow flooded habitats matters to this snake as much as protecting the trees themselves.
Per bambini
An anaconda can have almost its entire body underwater and still see and breathe. Eyes and nostrils on top of its head make this possible. It lives in tropical South America and favours shallow, quiet waters and flooded grasslands. Its olive body, covered in dark spots, can be hard to see among plants.
It is a constrictor. It catches another animal, wraps its strong body around it and then swallows it whole. It does not use venom. Young anacondas eat fish and small mammals, among other animals. A large female can catch a capybara, a sizeable rodent.
Females are larger than males and give birth to live young. Outside the breeding season, these snakes usually live alone. They need places with water and shelter. When people drain wetlands and cut down forests, suitable anaconda habitat disappears.
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What helps an anaconda breathe with its body submerged?
- Posizione
- Amazonia, ground floor, tank 704 · Gdynia Aquarium