Does my asp look big in this quiz?

Answer: South America

Anacondas are found in South America, east of the Amazon River. They can be found from Venezuela right the way down to the south of Argentina.

Answer: Antarctic anaconda

The de Schauensee anaconda is also known as the dark-spotted anaconda and can be found in parts of north eastern Brazil and French Guiana.

The green anaconda is found widely throughout the Amazon and Orinoco River basins, in parts of the Guiana region, and on the island of Trinidad.

As its name suggests the Bolivan anaconda is exclusive to that country.

The fourth species of anaconda is the Yellow anaconda found mainly in the Paraná and Uruguay river basins from Bolivia and southern Brazil through into Paraguay and Argentina.

Answer: Constriction

Anacondas are constrictors, which means that they constrict or crush their prey to death. They do have fangs but they are non venomous and are used mainly to help swallow the prey. The anaconda catches its prey by wrapping its powerful coils around the victim until it is suffocated, or it drags it under the water until drowning occurs.

Answer: Swamps and sluggish streams

Although their broader habitat are the rain forests of the Amazon Basin, anacondas spend most of their time in or under the water. They are sometimes found basking in the sun or hanging from low branches of trees to dry out and warm up. Because of their size, anacondas cannot move very quickly over dry land - therefore they spend most of their lives in the water, where they have learnt to stalk their prey using stealth.

Answer: True

On average female anacondas are around 50% longer than the males. The longest recorded female green anaconda was 33 feet in length, and weighed around 250 kg (about 550 lb), although they are around 6 m (20 ft) and 107 kg (235 lb) as an average.

Answer: Tamil

In Tamil the word "anaconda" means "elephant killer". It was the word originally used for the python in Sri Lanka. In South America the snake is also known locally by the Spanish term "matatoro", which means "bull killer". The Native American terms sucuri, yakumama, and jibóia are also used.

Answer: Boa

As members of the boa family of snakes, anacondas are sometimes called water boas. Like other members of the boa family, they kill their prey by constriction.

Answer: They are born live

Anacondas give birth to live young. This is the main difference between them and pythons, which all lay eggs. Anacondas are actually ovoviviparous, which means that they retain their eggs internally until the young hatch. The gestation period of the anaconda is about six to seven months.

Answer: Multiple

The number of young born can range from 20 to 100. The young are born live, usually in water. They are around 2ft in length when born, and soon become independent from the mother. However the survival rate of baby anacondas in the wild is very low as they can themselves fall prey to numerous predators.

Answer: Yes

Female anacondas are wont to practice two forms of cannibalism. Large females often kill and eat male anacondas following mating and like other live-bearing members of the boa family, females will also eat stillborn offspring. Female anacondas do not feed while pregnant, therefore both behaviors may be related to nutritional needs. The females probably eat adult males as a ready protein source before they cease to feed. Or maybe there is more to their Amazonian background than meets the eye!

I hope you enjoyed this quiz about these fascinating giant creatures - and look out for the constant references to them in some of my other quizzes!