Scientists working in the Amazon rainforest have discovered a new species of snake, rumoured to be the biggest in the world.
A team from the University of Queensland travelled to the Ecuadorian Amazon to search for the previously undocumented northern green anaconda , following an invitation from the Waorani people to observe anacondas “rumoured to be the largest in existence,” according to the scientists.
The team also said they had heard anecdotal evidence that snakes of 7.5 metres and 500 kilograms had been sighted in the area. But experts studying the creatures discovered that the newly identified northern green anaconda species diverged from the southern green anaconda almost 10 million years ago, and they differ genetically by 5.5%.
Habitat degradation, forest fires, drought and climate change threaten rare species like the anacondas, which exist in such rare ecosystems, he added.Cheaper daycare was one of the Liberal government’s biggest promises, but now the program is struggling, with daycare operators warning of closures if things don’t change.A private U.S. spacecraft that touched down on the moon, the first one in more than 50 years, ended up on its side, company officials said Friday.