A team of scientists on location with a film crew in the remote Amazon has uncovered a previously undocumented species of giant anaconda.
Professor Bryan Fry from The University of Queensland led a team which captured and studied several specimens of the newly named northern green anaconda, located in the Bameno region of Baihuaeri Waorani Territory in the Ecuadorian Amazon.
"We paddled canoes down the river system and were lucky enough to find several anacondas lurking in the shallows, lying in wait for prey. Professor Fry said the northern green anaconda species diverged from the southern green anaconda almost 10 million years ago, and they differ genetically by 5.5 per cent.
"Another increasing problem is habitat degradation from land fragmentation, led by industrialised agriculture and heavy metal pollution associated with spills from oil extraction activities."These rare anacondas, and the other species that share this remote ecosystem, face significant challenges.""It's not only these gigantic snakes that are facing environmental threats, but almost all living things in the region," he said.
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