A team of researchers in the Amazon rainforest have discovered a new species of snake—the Northern Green Anaconda—that slithers around Venezuela, Suriname, and Guyana. Below, astonishing video of TV presenter Freek Vonk swimming with one that's 26 feet long and weighs approximately 550 pounds.
According to the Independent, the species is "the largest and heaviest snake yet known in the world."
"Beyond its academic significance, this study has vital implications for the conservation of these iconic reptile species, highlighting our lack of knowledge about the diversity of the South American fauna and the need for revised strategies to conserve the newly identified and reclassified species," the researchers write in the scientific journal Diversity.
(via Daily Grail)
