Tracking the Worlds Largest Snakes

StonesWild 10/19/14

First off let me thank you all for reading this- Its important my blogs get recognized properly
Article three, here we go.

I, Stone, would like to welcome you all to todays wildlife discussion...

Tracking Titanic Serpents- the Largest Snakes on Record

Long has mankind been impressed by the size and power of the great constrictors, the largest of the snakes. Before modern weaponry arrived, man feared and respected these animals, for the have godlike strength to a man and could easily devour unsuspecting hunters. Today we will take a look at some of the largest species and gain insight into the question, which snake is the largest?

Green Anaconda-

 Eunectes murinus

Recently, this species has received much attention from the popular song, simply called Anaconda, performed by a popular female rapper. One of the heaviest snakes, average adults can range up to 154 pounds in weight. A reward, of 50,000 US Dollars, remains unclaimed for the capture of an anaconda that measures 30 feet or longer.

Reticulated Python

Python reticulatus

Averaging 19 feet, reticulated pythons are one of the longest snake already. Especially so when you find out that there was once a confirmed report of a 33-footer! This species is also responsible for several human deaths. 

Burmese Python

Python Bivittatus

Probably the third longest snake in the world, these enormous pythons can reach 19 feet. They come from southeast Asia but have been introduced to many other areas, including the Florida Everglades. 

Rock Python

Python Sebae

Exceeding 20 feet or more, this is the largest snake in all of Africa. Known to eat entire antelope carcasses, this is one of the most dangerous types. 

Yellow Anaconda

Eunectes notaeus

Close in looks to the Giant Green Anaconda, the Yellow Anaconda is also a very large snake, growing more than 121 pounds and over 15 feet long!

Giant Anaconda

Eunectes Succuruju

A much-debated third species of Anaconda is known only from eyewitness reports. loose Claims of 50+ foot snakes date back to the 1800s, but with little evidence in hand, the very existence of these rare giants is not yet accepted by most herpetologists.

So, for the moment, the reticulated python holds the record for the longest species, at 33 feet, and also the heaviest, at 165+ American pounds. But who knows? As mentioned above, reports of 80 foot snakelike creatures called Nguma-Monene spring up from the African swamplands near the Congo. In South America, natives fear a huge serpent known as the Succuruju, or Great Snake, which may be conspecific with the new Anaconda species mentioned above. Perhaps some day, maybe even tomorrow, a new species of giant snake will be discovered in a far off jungle, and take the record for the worlds greatest snake.

Thank you all for reading!

Best wishes,

Safari Stone

A Barrage of Brazilian Animals

StonesWild 11/15/14

First off let me thank you all for reading this- It's important my blogs get recognized properly.

 

Okay...second article. Here we go.  I, Stone, would like to welcome you all to todays wildlife discussion...

A Barrage Of Brazilian Mammals

Over the past few years, there has been quite some noise about some new species in Brazil. Many, including some most unusual, were discovered by Dr. Marc Van Roosmalen, the notorious Dutch primatologist. Several others, though, were found to exist by various other researcher and zoos.

First on our list- a mysterious new big cat, the Onca Cangucu, or White Throated Jaguar...

Onca Cangucu- A Mystery of Black and White Revealed

No Latin name has been proposed yet, but in Amazonian Brazil, Roosmalen discovered a new subspecies of Jaguar, A much larger 11 foot variant with a tufted tail and a white throat. The background is black as in common black jaguars, but show no sign of the "ghost markings" seen on most black jaguars. Is it simply a variant, a new subspecies, or a new big cat all together? This remains to be seen.

Below, Roosmalen holds up the pelt of an Speckled or Cloud Forest Jaguar. The black pelts and skulls in the bottom left are those of the new Onca Cangucu.

                                                         

Araguaia River Dolphin

Inia araguaiaensis

In early 2014, the waters of the murky South American Aragua River gave rise to a new dolphin species- The Araguaia Boto

DNA and skull information concluded it was separate from other River Dolphins

 

Kabomani Tapir [ Aka Little or Dwarf Black Tapir ]

Tapirus Kabomani

Discovered in 2013, this Amazonian animal was the first odd-toed hoofed animal to be discovered in over 100 years!

To most people, it may look like a small elephant, but the tapir family's closest living relatives are actually horses and rhinos!

Kabomani Tapirs are a low browsing species that spends much time in the water, as do the Hippos of Africa.

Olinguito

Bassaricyon neblina

Described in August 2013, this appealing catlike carnivore was found to live in the Columbian Cloud Forest. Several had also been kept in zoos prior to the discovery, but the extreme similarities in looks the more common relative, the Andean Olingo, kept it's differences disguised. Only after close examination and DNA sampling was this animals new species-hood brought to light.

Further, since this mammals discovery, a number of subspecies of this animal have been found, [ none given common names yet ] including:

Bassaricyon neblina neblina

B. n. osborni,

B. n. hershkovitzi

B. n. ruber

Brazilian Forest Oncilla

Leopardus Guttulus

A terrier-sized new cat from Brazil was discovered in late 2013, from southern Brazil. Found to be radically different in DNA from it's northern lookalike, the Tiger Cat [ or Savannah Oncilla ], the Forest Oncilla was announced as a new species in November that year. The Oncilla feeds on small rodents and birds.

An Oncilla adult:

An Oncilla cub:

Giant Peccary

Pecari Maximus

Coming back to the discoveries of Van Roosmalen, we find an interesting animal described from the Terra Firme Forest, of the Amazon Region in 2007. With a 88 to 110 pound body, blackish legs and stringy brown hair, this large pig-like animal travels in pairs across the forest floor, scavenging fruit and bark pieces.

Dwarf Manatee

Trichechus Pygmaeus

In the waters of the Aripuana River, a tributary of the Amazon, there lives a very small, 3 to 3.6 foot manatee, separated from the only other Amazonian species, the [ obviously ] Amazon Manatee, for thousands of years, it has evolved a similar lifestyle but a much smaller size!

Thank you all for reading!

Best wishes,

Safari Stone