How Big, How Many Kinds?: teacher key

Green Anacondas, grade 12 edition, written for 12th grade and up. How big a green anaconda can grow, and whether it is one species or two, are both argued. Read the measurements, the 2024 split, its critics, and how the snakes breed and live.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. What did Dubois and colleagues argue about the new name?
   • It broke nomenclature rules (answer)
   • It was too short
   • It was in the wrong language
2. As of November 2026, how does the Reptile Database treat Eunectes akayima?
   • As a separate species
   • As a synonym of E. murinus (answer)
   • As a fossil
3. What did critics question about the 2024 analysis?
   • That it used too many fossils
   • That it was written in Latin
   • That it was based on three mitochondrial genes (answer)
4. Why might the northern green anaconda be more vulnerable than the southern one?
   • Its range is much smaller (answer)
   • It is much bigger
   • It is much older
5. What did Rivas recommend instead of harvesting wild anacondas?
   • Building roads
   • Ecotourism (answer)
   • Cutting forests

Words

• synonym: another name
• nomenclature: naming rules
• clades: branches of life
• ecotourism: nature visits