Biggest Snakes in the World

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They have represented evil throughout history, the Christian religion uses the snake to represent Satan himself. Snakes are probably, of all creatures, the animal which most gives us the creeps.

Because of Hollywood snake movies, most people consider big snakes to be some kind of evil creature on a mission to devour every human that crosses their path.

Obviously, this is not true, in fact, snakes big or small will try to escape from a human 99% of the times.

So what could be worse than a snake, well what about a very big snake!

But there is something about the biggest snakes that fascinates us, that's why are we so curious about giant snakes. But in truth, big snakes are not something to be terrified by, They should be respected, admired and of course protected.

So which are the biggest snakes in the world?

Green Anaconda

The heaviest snake in the world

The Green Anaconda lives primarily in the Amazon basin. These snakes are typically regarded as one of the world's biggest snakes. This is true if we consider overall weight, they are the heaviest, but they aren't actually the longest snakes.

The green anaconda is so heavy that it needs to stay in the water almost exclusively to be able to move around. The largest measured anaconda is over 28 feet, but the normal size is about 15 feet long.

An adult green anaconda has very few enemies in the wild, aside from humans. They will feed on just about anything they can catch and overpower, which is bad news for a lot of animals, this giant snake can even eat a caiman or even crocodiles.

The green anaconda is normally dark brown or olive-colored with an attractive pattern of black and yellow spots. There are actually two species of anaconda, the green anaconda (Eunectes murinus) and the yellow anaconda (Eunectes notaeus) and both are large snakes. However, the green anaconda is by far larger than the yellow anaconda.

Reticulated Python

The longest snake in the world

The reticulated python is without a doubt the longest snake in the world. Their average adult size is about 18 feet long (5.5 meters) and maximum recorded length of over 32 feet.

This giant snake species can be found in the rainforests of Southeast Asia and with its exceptional camouflage pattern, it is the perfect ambush predator. They are constrictors, this means they will coil around their prey and squeeze it until it dies, then swallow it whole.

The reticulated python name derives from the distinctive color and pattern on its scales as the word “reticulated” is an adjective defined as “having lines intercrossed, forming a network”.

The reticulated python hatches from eggs, the large female snake may lay up to 100 eggs at a time.Like many species of snakes that are hunted by people for their meat and skin, the reticulated python with its large size and the beautiful distinctive pattern, make their skins highly popular for leather products.

King Cobra

The longest venomous snake in the world

No other venomous snake species in the world is longer than an adult king cobra it will average around 12 to 15 feet in length, but specimens up to 18 or 20 ft long are not uncommon.

The king cobra is renowned for killing and eating other snakes. The king cobra has the ability to raise and stand up as tall as one-third of its body length, that means that a large snake will be as tall as a human being

The king cobra is native to southeast Asia and is found living near streams and swamps but also in farm fields and in areas where bamboo thrives. The species can live for as long as 20 years in the wild.

Their coloration depends on its habitat, some can be a light olive shade, while other specimens will be blackish-brown while other may show white, tan or yellow bands in bodies. The king cobra is capable of delivering enough venom in a single bite to kill an elephant, and its fangs are as long as half an inch.

Titanoboa

The biggest snake ever found in the world

The snakes described above are big some are really big, but they are no match to the Titanoboa.

This is by far the biggest, longest, and heaviest snake ever found and it weighed more than a 1000 kg and measured approximately 50 feet in length.

In 2009, the fossils of the Titanoboa (Titanoboa cerrejonensis) were found in Colombia's coal mines of Cerrejón in La Guajira, where around 58 million years ago, these giant snakes slithered in swampy jungles and forests of South America. These giant snakes could swallow crocodiles whole.

Their name Titanoboa means literally "titanic boa", they are extinct and lived during the Paleocene epoch, a period of 10 million years between 56 a 66 million years ago.

Now for some honorable mentions, these might not be the biggest in the world but they are the biggest of their type or in their region.

The Eastern Diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus) is the largest rattlesnake in the world and the heaviest but not the longest venomous snake found in the American continent.

The Bushmaster is considered the largest pit viper in the world and also longest venomous snake found in the New World, sometimes referred as the "ultimate pit viper".

The African Rock Python is largest snake found in the African continent.

The Scrub or Amethystine Python is Australia’s biggest non-venomous snake.

Did You Know?

One bite of the australian inland taipan contains enough venom to kill up to 100 full grown men.