Which are the biggest snakes

A.� Betteredit wants to know which�6 species of snake are the biggest.

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Q.� Why is it a problem

A.� The reason Betteredit might be asking this question is because there's quite a lot of controversy as to which snake of the 3000 species on earth really is the biggest.

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It all depends on whether you take overall body mass or length as the measure of size

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Q.� Which is the longest snake

A.� This title goes to the Asiatic Reticulated Python (Python reticulatus). The longest measured member of this species reached 33 feet.

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Q.� And if you go for body mass

A.� Then the winner is the anaconda, Eunectes murinus. The longest measured anaconda was a mere 28 feet, but with a girth of 44 inches it beats the Asiatic Reticulated Python with its vast bulk. Not surprisingly no one managed to wrestle this huge creature onto a set of scales but experts estimate it would have weighed around 500 pounds.

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At this girth anacondas are the same width as a adult human, making them big enough to swallow one whole.

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Q.� Where do anacondas live

A.� In the Amazon River, and its tributaries, in South America. They're well camouflaged and spend most of their time looking out for the next meal.

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Q.� How do they kill their prey

A.� They're members of the boa constrictor family of snakes and so they wrap themselves around their victims and suffocate them, and then they swallow them whole. Although they could polish off one of us they're much more likely to settle for something that lives in the river with them.

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Q.� How can they swallow things whole

A.� One of the snake's most distinctive features is the skull. The skull has two openings on each side behind the eye sockets, officially known as diapsid. However as the snake has evolved, these openings are no longer apparent, however it does mean that the snake has a very pliable skull and can open its jaw very, very wide.

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Q.� So they don't have teeth

A.� Yes, in fact virtually all species of snakes have teeth, it's just that not all of them have venomous ones. Some snakes use their teeth for holding onto their prey to stop them from escaping. If an anaconda did bite you it wouldn't be fatal, as they don't have venomous fangs.

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by Lisa Cardy