South America has the hardest lives. Titanoboa snake. Anaconda appearance

Snakes are amazing creatures that cause mixed reactions in almost all people. These cold-blooded creatures are distinguished by intelligence, a certain mystery and even mysticism. Below is a rating of the 10 longest snakes on the planet.

1st place – reticulated python

Although most individuals reach a length of 4-8 meters, pythons are known to be 10 meters or more in length. The python, caught by a resident of the island of Sumatra in Indonesia, weighed 447 kg in 2000 and grew in length to almost 15 m. The snake is considered the largest living today.

Pythons are considered harmless to people, as there are only 2 known cases of this snake attacking a person. They mainly feed on rodents and livestock, so they often “visit” nearby settlements.

2nd place - green anaconda (or giant)

The green anaconda subspecies, belonging to the boa constrictor family, is considered the largest in the world - its size reaches 9-10 meters, with females being larger. However, in the eastern part of Colombia, a completely gigantic individual was caught - an anaconda 11 m and 43 cm long.

This snake lives in the southern part of America and spends most of its life in water. It feeds on livestock that comes to the pond to drink water - these can be goats, sheep, ducks and even dogs. Leads a secluded lifestyle, with the exception of mating seasons, and loves to soak up the sun.

3rd place – Burmese python

This python is also called the dark tiger python. The average length is about 5-8 m, but the world knows a specimen that has grown to 9 m 15 cm. The Burmese python lives in Indonesia, India, China, Java, Thailand and Cambodia. It loves humidity, so it prefers tropical forests and swamps. Swims well, and at a young age also climbs trees. It feeds on rodents, pigeons, and monitor lizards. Large individuals can even feast on a jackal or deer. These pythons are phlegmatic, so they rarely attack people.

4th place – Indian python

Also called the light tiger python and reaches a length of 6 m. It is found in the mountains, on rocky slopes and near water. It leads a nocturnal lifestyle, sleeping during the day and going out hunting at night. This snake feeds on small animals of about 3-5 kg, although, if desired, it is capable of catching larger game.

5th place – king cobra

Among poisonous snakes it is considered the largest - reaches 5 m 60 cm in length. In fact, it does not belong to real cobras, but belongs to the asp family. Lives in Southern and Southeast Asia, sometimes swallows monitor lizards, but most often feeds on relatives, including poisonous ones. Unlike other snakes, it can control the dose of venom injected during a bite. The cobra has an excellent memory and is said to be able to distinguish the person who has caught it from other people.

6th place – common boa constrictor

The common boa constrictor belongs to the family Boa constrictors or pseudopods. On average it reaches 4-5 m, although there are individuals up to 6 m. It lives on mountain slopes, in forests, swamps, near rivers and lakes, in caves. Swims well and can long time is in the water. Sometimes city residents replace cats with boa constrictors, as they are good at hunting rodents.

7th place – mamba

The black mamba is considered the most poisonous snake on the African continent. The Guinness Book of Records claims that it is also the fastest snake in the world, as it is distinguished by its extraordinary agility, allowing it to glide along the ground even with its head raised. Hunts during the day for various small game - rodents, mice, etc. When meeting a person, she tries to avoid contact, but if she fails, she immediately attacks.

8th place – bushmaster

The largest species of the viper family grows up to 3-4 m. South America considered the most poisonous snake. Leads a solitary lifestyle and is often found in uninhabited areas, so contact with people is rare. Surukuku - the local name for bushmaster - goes out hunting at night, feeding on rodents and small snakes. Its poison is dangerous to humans, but the mortality rate from it is quite low - up to 12%.

9th place – brown eastern snake

The reticulated brown snake belongs to the adder family. It is found in Australia, New Guinea, and also in Indonesia. It reaches a length of 2 meters, and the largest recorded specimen has grown to 2 m 40 cm. The venom of a snake without medical attention can be fatal.

The eastern snake hunts rodents, mainly house mice; sometimes they eat reptiles, birds and even their own relatives.

10th place – viper

This snake, belonging to the genus of giant vipers, is also poisonous and can reach almost 2 meters. It is found everywhere - in Turkey, Iraq, India, Asia and the territory of the former USSR. Prefers the mountain-steppe zone. Hunts at different times of the day, depending on the time of year. These snakes hibernate alone or in groups of up to 12 individuals. Eats small mammals, birds and snakes.

Any person who has ever met a snake on his way will forever remember this meeting, which cannot be pleasant. If even a harmless snake can cause fear and panic, imagine what can happen when meeting a large snake! At this moment, you don’t think at all about what the largest snake on the planet is, but, nevertheless, as sources say, the chances of dying from a snake bite are much less than from a car accident. The world's largest snakes don't have to be venomous or life-threatening, but most modern people they are still more afraid of them than of any other living creatures on the planet. We all relate to snakes differently: some keep them as pets, some see the meaning of their lives in them and associate their professional activities with them, some fear them more than death. The last category, regardless of age, courage and views on these creatures, includes most of the inhabitants of our planet. Rest assured that everyone will feel a shiver in their body when meeting the largest species of snakes on the planet by weight!

It is the largest snake that ever lived on Earth. This representative of the order of reptiles lived on the planet during the Paleogene period. Which, as we remember from the school course, took place more than 60 million years ago. This monster reached 15 meters in length, weighed more than 10 centners, and its thickness could be up to 100 cm in girth. Fossil remains were discovered in the South American country of Colombia. Scientists have found that this type of snake lived in tropical forests at temperatures of 30-40 degrees, and this is what contributed to their growth, provided there was enough food, of course. If you analyze the snakes that now inhabit our planet, you will notice that even now the largest species of snakes live in a humid and hot tropical climate. Titanoboa is the only fossil animal that has been found in South America, living there from 65 to 55 million years BC. After eating, such a snake may not eat for many months, up to 1.5 years. After the dinosaurs went extinct, Titanoboa lived for about 10 million years. During this period, it was the largest predator on Earth. On land, it was very difficult for Titanoboa to move at speed, so it did not pose any serious threat to animals capable of running. But in water, Titanoboa was very, very dangerous. Now it is difficult to establish whether she ate crocodiles or alligators, but we can say with confidence that she was able to cope with them. I wonder if a creature of this size would simply die in our climate. This is why this snake is so interesting in scientific circles. To maintain vital functions, a thirteen-meter reptile needs a temperature of 30-35 degrees. Apparently, sixty million years ago this was exactly the temperature that reigned on Earth.

Currently, another one of the largest snakes in the world lives on our planet - this anaconda. Giant or Green. It is only 10 meters long, but its weight can be 220 kilograms. However, the Green Anaconda can easily compete with the Asian Python both in size and length. The largest living snake lives in New York, in the terrarium of the Zoological Society. She is about 9 meters tall and weighs 130 kilograms. But the longest anaconda length that has been recorded is 11 meters and 43 centimeters. It was measured in 1944 by a petroleum geologist who was studying the jungles of Colombia and looking for deposits of “black gold”.

However, the main evidence, the body of the “anaconda queen,” was missing. According to the geologist, after stunning and measuring, the snake came to its senses and crawled away. But the herpetological world still recognized the existence of a snake of this size. Since then, a length of almost 12 meters has been a generally recognized record. He was even included in the Guinness Book of Records. In the 30s of the last century, the zoological community announced a reward of 1 thousand dollars to anyone who could prove the existence of an anaconda more than 12.2 meters long. After this, former US President Theodore Roosevelt increased the prize to 6 thousand dollars, and reduced the size of the snake to 9.12 meters. Today the payment has already increased to 50 thousand dollars, but still no one can get it. Therefore, a 9-meter specimen from the New York terrarium is apparently the limit. This gives a trump card to supporters of the leadership of the Asian reticulated python. Although the only snake of the species whose length can be estimated with one’s own eyes is one meter shorter than the anaconda from New York. The python lives at the Philadelphia Zoo.

However, it is worth noting that the remains of Giant African python, who lived 55 million years ago. Part of the spine suggests that the snake had a length of 11 meters and 80 centimeters. Today, the average length of an ordinary anaconda is about 6 meters. And cases of it growing up to nine meters are rare. The snake lives in the tropical forests of South America, in particular in the quiet backwaters of the Amazon. There the Giant Anaconda searches for its prey and guards it. It feeds on small and medium-sized mammals. She pounces on the victim, covers her with rings of her body, after which she strangles and swallows whole. An anaconda’s food is digested from several hours to several days. At this time, she does not eat anything, and also does not hunt. He just lies quietly, half asleep, in a secluded place. And, despite numerous cinematic and folklore legends, the anaconda is not dangerous for an adult. Cases of snake attacks on people are rare. Hunters, as a rule, do not experience fear when encountering anacondas. They destroy them in the same way as wolf farmers to prevent the snakes from destroying poultry and livestock.

Anacondas live in hard-to-reach places, so it is quite difficult to determine their numbers. However, it is already known that restoring the population of this snake species is not a problem. Giant anacondas are ovoviviparous. The average snake litter is up to 40 newborns. In addition, they reproduce calmly in natural environment, and in captivity. Females and males are not picky about choosing a partner; it is enough for one to simply get into the visibility zone of the other. The largest snake on earth is not poisonous. She kills her victim by strangulation. And it doesn’t release venom like other snakes. This is the main difference between the Giant Anaconda and the King Cobra - it is the largest venomous snake in the world. She has the most large number poison.

Snake eater is exactly how the name is translated from Latin, which was awarded to the cobra by scientists who noticed its passion for eating other snakes, including extremely poisonous ones.

The largest poisonous reptile also has another name - hamadryad. These creatures, which grow throughout their entire life (30 years), infest the tropical forests of India, Indonesia, Pakistan and the Philippines.

The longest snake of this species was captured in 1937 in Malaysia and transported to London Zoo. Here it was measured, documenting its length as 5.71 m. They say that in nature there are longer specimens crawling, although most adult cobras fit within an interval of 3-4 meters.

To the credit of the king cobra, it should be noted that it is not the most poisonous and is also quite patient: a person needs to be at the level of its eyes, and without making sudden movements, hold its gaze. They say that after a few minutes the cobra calmly leaves the place of the unexpected meeting.

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Sources

http://topxlist.ru/samaya-bolshaya-zmeya/ http://best-top10.ru/samye-bolshie-zmei-v-mire.html

TravelAsk continues to talk about all the best things in our world. And you can find out which snake holds the record for its size.

Reptile giants

The largest snake is considered to be the anaconda (Green or Giant). It is usually no more than 10 meters in length, however, it can weigh up to 220 kilograms.

Today, the largest of the anacondas lives in the terrarium of the Zoological Society in New York: it weighs 130 kilograms and is about 9 meters long.

The longest anaconda

But the longest anaconda length that has been recorded is 11 meters and 43 centimeters. In 1944, the snake was measured by a geologist who was exploring the Colombian jungle in search of gold.

He stunned the snake, measured it, but after that it came to its senses and crawled away. So we can only guess about the reliability of this fact. However, to this day the length of almost 12 meters is a generally recognized record, listed in the Guinness Book of Records.

In the 1930s, a reward of one thousand dollars was even announced for anyone who could prove the existence of an anaconda with a body larger than 12.2 meters. Then the premium increased to 6 thousand dollars, and the size of the snake decreased to some 9 meters and 12 centimeters. No one ever received the award. By the way, today it is about 50 thousand dollars, so everyone who wants to get rich and enjoy the jungle can start searching.

And apparently, a 9-meter snake living in a terrarium in New York is the limit for today.

So python or anaconda

In fact, it's fair to share the top spot between the anaconda and the Asian reticulated python.

The latter in its natural habitat can grow up to 150 kilograms and up to 12 meters in length. But this is also just a theory. The only giant python that can be truly measured lives at the Philadelphia Zoo. He is one meter smaller than the anaconda from the Zoological Society in New York.

What does history say?

However, in the history of the planet there were truly giant snakes. Zoologists gave them the names Titanoboa.

The monster weighed more than a ton with its relatively small size - about 14 meters. It lived approximately 58 million years ago in South America.

The giant could easily swallow a whole crocodile, and it’s not even worth talking about smaller prey.

The snake was not poisonous; it killed by force, squeezing the prey with its body.

After the dinosaurs went extinct, Titanoboa lived for about 10 million years. During this period, it was the largest predator on Earth.

Where do anacondas live

The snake lives in the tropics of South America, in the backwaters of the Amazon. It is there that she looks for prey.

Despite many films and legends, the anaconda is not terrible for humans; cases of attack are rare. The snake feeds on small and medium-sized mammals. She strangles the victim with her body and swallows him.

It can take up to several days for the prey to be digested, during which time the snake quietly dozes in solitude.

It is very difficult to determine the number of anacondas, since they live in hard-to-reach places. Their average length is 6 meters; larger individuals are extremely rare in nature.

Second and third place

In second place in terms of size is the dark tiger python, the maximum length of which was recorded at 9 meters and 15 centimeters.

Usually they do not exceed 5.5 meters and 70 kilograms.

In third place is another giant - the Indian python.

A large individual reaches 6 meters in length.

Snakes are one of the ancient creatures living on our planet. Since ancient times they have been feared and revered. The largest snakes in the world are not necessarily venomous, but they look scary, even in photos.

Anaconda is one of the largest snakes. Lives in the tropics of South America. Can reach 5–6 meters in length. Her teeth are sharp, but do not contain poison. The bite can be quite painful, but will not cause much harm. It feeds on various species of mammals and reptiles.

An adult digests and assimilates food for 3–4 weeks.

The common boa constrictor is another example of a large non-venomous reptile. Lives in South America, Brazil, Argentina. It reaches 2.5 - 3 meters in length. It feeds on mammals, reptiles, and birds. The activity of boa constrictors depends on the ambient temperature.

The king cobra is one of the largest venomous snakes in the world. She does not disdain eating her relatives.

Found in African subtropical forests. Leads into the top five largest snakes in the world.

The dark tiger python is found in Thailand, Vietnam, East India. It feeds on mammals and birds.

The size of this snake is less impressive than its relative, the dark tiger python. This snake lives in the forests of India, Nepal, and Pakistan.

The amethyst python is the largest snake in Australia. It feeds on small birds, mammals, and lizards.

Bushmaster is the largest snake in South America, one of the species of vipers.

One legend says that at night the snake takes milk from cows and women while they sleep.

The black mamba is one of the most poisonous snakes in the world. Its teeth reach a length of 22–33 mm. Lives in Africa.

Reticulated python

The reticulated python is considered the largest snake in the world. It can reach a length of 4 to 10 meters. It lives mainly in tropical forests of South Asia. It feeds on rodents, birds, and monkeys.