2. Any member of the genus Eunectes, a group of large, aquatic snakes found in South
America.
Eunectes murinus, a.k.a. the common anaconda, the largest species, found east of the
Andes in Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil and on the
island of Trinidad.
Eunectes notaeus, a.k.a. the yellow anaconda, a smaller species found in eastern Bolivia,
southern Brazil, Paraguay and northeastern Argentina.
Eunectes deschauenseei, a.k.a. the dark-spotted anaconda, a rare species found in
northeastern Brazil and coastal French Guiana.
E. beniensis, a.k.a. the Bolivian anaconda, the most recently defined species found in the
Departments of Beni and Pando in Bolivia.
The giant anaconda, a mythical snake of enormous proportions found in South America.
[1]
Any large snake that "crushes" its prey (see Constriction). Applied loosely.
[edit]Etymology
As per National Geographic, the word anaconda comes from the Tamil word anaikolra, which
[2]
means elephant killer .
The name was first used in the English language in 1768 by R. Edwin in a colorful description of
a large snake found in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), most likely a reticulated python, Python
reticulatus. The account, which explains how the snake crushes and devours tigers, is full of
popular misconceptions, but was much read at the time and so gave rise to the myth of the
[3]
Anaconda of Ceylon.
Various theories exist regarding the origin of the name itself. One suggests that it was derived
from the Sinhala henakandaya. However, this name is used to refer to the brown vine
snake, Ahaetulla pulverulenta, a slender arboreal species that grows to five feet (152 cm) at
[3]
most and feeds only on small vertebrates. Another theory by Yule and Burnell (1886) is based
on an entry in the Catalogue of Indian Serpents from the Leyden Museum (Ray, 1693) that
reads: Anacondaia Zeylonensibus, id est Bubalorum aliorumque jumentorum membra
conterens, meaning "the anacondaia of the Ceylonese, i.e. he that crushes the limbs of
buffaloes and yoke beasts." Without a clear Sinhala connection, they suggest one from
[3][1]
the Tamil language instead: anai-kondra (anaik-konda), meaning "which killed an elephant.”
[edit]References
Wikimedia Commons has
media related to: Eunectes
Look up anaconda in
Wiktionary, the free
3. dictionary.
a b
1. ^ Oxford. 1991. The Compact Oxford English Dictionary. Second Edition. Clarendon Press,
Oxford. ISBN 0-19-861258-3.
2. ^ http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/08/photogalleries/0802_snakes1.html
a b c
3. ^ Boyle R. 2008. “The Anac
![ Any member of the genus Eunectes, a group of large, aquatic snakes found in South
America.
Eunectes murinus, a.k.a. the common anaconda, the largest species, found east of the
Andes in Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil and on the
island of Trinidad.
Eunectes notaeus, a.k.a. the yellow anaconda, a smaller species found in eastern Bolivia,
southern Brazil, Paraguay and northeastern Argentina.
Eunectes deschauenseei, a.k.a. the dark-spotted anaconda, a rare species found in
northeastern Brazil and coastal French Guiana.
E. beniensis, a.k.a. the Bolivian anaconda, the most recently defined species found in the
Departments of Beni and Pando in Bolivia.
The giant anaconda, a mythical snake of enormous proportions found in South America.
[1]
Any large snake that "crushes" its prey (see Constriction). Applied loosely.
[edit]Etymology
As per National Geographic, the word anaconda comes from the Tamil word anaikolra, which
[2]
means elephant killer .
The name was first used in the English language in 1768 by R. Edwin in a colorful description of
a large snake found in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), most likely a reticulated python, Python
reticulatus. The account, which explains how the snake crushes and devours tigers, is full of
popular misconceptions, but was much read at the time and so gave rise to the myth of the
[3]
Anaconda of Ceylon.
Various theories exist regarding the origin of the name itself. One suggests that it was derived
from the Sinhala henakandaya. However, this name is used to refer to the brown vine
snake, Ahaetulla pulverulenta, a slender arboreal species that grows to five feet (152 cm) at
[3]
most and feeds only on small vertebrates. Another theory by Yule and Burnell (1886) is based
on an entry in the Catalogue of Indian Serpents from the Leyden Museum (Ray, 1693) that
reads: Anacondaia Zeylonensibus, id est Bubalorum aliorumque jumentorum membra
conterens, meaning "the anacondaia of the Ceylonese, i.e. he that crushes the limbs of
buffaloes and yoke beasts." Without a clear Sinhala connection, they suggest one from
[3][1]
the Tamil language instead: anai-kondra (anaik-konda), meaning "which killed an elephant.”
[edit]References
Wikimedia Commons has
media related to: Eunectes
Look up anaconda in
Wiktionary, the free](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)