Scientists discover new species of green anacondaNew species of Green Anaconda

Hold on Nicki Minaj because it appears there are now TWO green anacondas…species, that is. In a study published in the open-access journal MDPI Diversity, the Eunectes murinus, or as we know them – the green anaconda, has a relative!

One of the coauthors of the new study, biologist at the University of Queensland Bryan Fry, said that their genetic differences are massive. “They’re five-and-a-half percent different, genetically. Now, to put that into context, we’re about two percent different from chimps,” he said.

Bryan along with the coauthors of this study documented the discovery, which will be seen in Pole to Pole with Will Smith, an upcoming series on Disney+. They weren’t getting jiggy with it in the wild wild west when they made this discovery. Or Miami for that matter, they were just cruisin’ throughout South America (that’ll do it for the song references). But seriously, they weren’t even there to discovery a new species.

The team was undertaking a long-term study in collaboration with the Indigenous Waorani people to look at the effects of drilling in the Amazon and investigating if oil pollution is affecting male fertility. While they were collecting blood and tissue samples throughout Ecuador, Venezuela, and Brazil, they noticed a few differences like the anacondas in Ecuador were larger than those in Brazil. The snakes, we’re talking about.

After analysing the samples, they made the incredible discovery that green anacondas that are found in the northern parts of South America (including Venezuela, Suriname, and French Guiana) are a completely different species!

To check out more on this discovery and keep an eye out for Pole to Pole with Will Smith, head to National Geographic.