New giant snake species discovered

 New giant snake species discovered during filming of TV Show

When one thinks about the kinds of discoveries that are usually made on a TV set, what probably comes to mind are new camera angles or new acting techniques. Earlier, during the filming of “Pole to Pole with Will Smith,” scientists made an unexpected discovery: a previously undocumented snake species. It turns out the world's heaviest snake isn't quite what it seems. During the filming of an upcoming series, it was discovered that the green anaconda is actually two genetically distinct species, despite each species looking so similar that even experts can't tell them apart.

National Geographic Explorer and Professor Bryan Fry from the University of Queensland says he and a team of scientists received a rare invitation from the Waorani people to explore the region and collect samples from a population of anacondas. Indigenous hunters took them into the jungle on a 10-day expedition to search for the snakes, which they consider sacred. “Pole to Pole” will cover Smith’s journey across each one of Earth’s biomes. For the show’s segment on the tropical forest biome, Smith will be depicted exploring the Amazon rainforest. The scientists collected samples from the anacondas living in the region, who were rumoured to be the largest in the world. When they examined the genetic material of the snakes, they were stunned to find that they were actually a completely undocumented species. They named the snake the northern green anaconda, who turned out to differ genetically by 5.5 percent from the southern green anaconda. She's over 20 feet long. “It’s quite significant — to put it in perspective, humans differ from chimpanzees by only about 2 [percent],” Fry said. 

"We paddled canoes down the river system and were lucky enough to find several anacondas lurking in the shallows, lying in wait for prey," Fry said. "The size of these magnificent creatures was incredible - one female anaconda we encountered measured an astounding 6.3 metres (20.7 feet) long. There are anecdotal reports from the Waorani people of other anacondas in the area measuring more than 7.5 metres (25 feet) long and weighing around 500 kilograms (1102 pounds)." The northern green anaconda has officially been deemed the largest species of anaconda in the world. “The size of these magnificent creatures was incredible — one female anaconda we encountered measured an astounding [20.67 feet] long,” Fry said. “There are anecdotal reports from the Waorani people of other anacondas in the area measuring more than [24.6 feet] long and weighing around [1,102.3 pounds].” The documentation of this species serves as another reminder of the importance of preserving the Amazon. They collected blood and tissue samples from green anacondas in Ecuador, Venezuela and Brazil, a process documented exclusively by National Geographic for their upcoming series.

“The discovery of a new species of anaconda is exciting, but it is critical to highlight the urgent need to further research these threatened species and ecosystems,” Fry said. Some of the challenges northern green anacondas are facing include deforestation, climate change and drought. Hopefully, once “Pole to Pole” is released, some more light will be shed on these “magnificent creatures” and how to make sure they’re protected. Botflies perch on the head of a northern green Anaconda in Yasuni National Park in Ecuador. A new study recently revealed that the green anaconda is two distinct species. After running the genetic data, they found a clear divide between those sampled in the northern part of the range as opposed to those in the south. Based on these findings, they proposed renaming the former the northern green anaconda (Eunectes akayima), while E. murinus will continue to refer to southern green anacondas. Fry called the discovery "the highlight of my career."