Anaconda

The Anaconda is the common name for a large South American snake of the boa family. 

The name anaconda originated from Tamil Language. anai-kondra meaning elephant killer.

The anaconda is one of the largest and most powerful snakes in the world, and the largest in the western hemisphere. A large adult green anaconda may be 6 m (19 ft) long and weigh 107 kg (235 lb). 

An Anaconda Eunectes murinus By Dave Lonsdale - Anaconda

They live for around 10 years in the wild.

It kills its prey by constriction, or squeezing. 

There have been no documented cases of an Anaconda eating a human.

The anaconda's four (mostly) parallel lines of backwards-pointing teeth help them grip their prey and swallow it whole. The lower jaw adds another two for extra assistance.  

The Anaconda is found in the rivers of the Guianas and Brazil and has tiny vertical nostrils at the end of the snout which can be entirely closed while it is swimming. 

Anacondas have eyes and nostrils designed to poke above a river’s surface. Hence their alternative name of “water boas.”

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The upper front of the snake’s head is covered with shieldlike plates, which change farther back to scales. 

The female anaconda gives birth to living young. 

When anacondas mate, several competing males can form a ball around a female in a ritual that can last up to a month.

Source Funk & Wagnells Encyclopedia