Dark-Spotted Anaconda

Eunectes deschaunenseei

Meet one of the lesser known members of the Anaconda Clan, the Dark-Spotted or De Schauensee's Anaconda. The species is named for Rodolphe Meyer de Schauensee, who donated the first captive specimen to the Philadelphia Zoo in 1924. There remain a handful of captive snakes worldwide.

We don't really know very much about these snakes. They are found in parts of Brazil and French Guiana, but they are so rarely spotted that no one knows much relating to their behavior, or even how large their population is!

What we do know is that like all the Anacondas, they are non-venomous. And based on the observation of a few females, they have litters that number between 2 and 26.

It's pretty amazing to think that we know so much about the Green and Yellow Anacondas, but that their close relative remains such a mystery!

IUCN Status : Data Deficient

Location : South America

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Reptilia -- Order : Squamata
Family : Boidae -- Genus : Eunectes -- Species : E. deschauenseei

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