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Garten NF, Jena
51
(5/6):353-356)
and
Neill
and
Allen (1962.
Quart.
J.
Florida
Acad.
Sci. 25:73-75)
reported
ingestion
of
extraembryoniC
membranes
and
an
undeveloped
egg.
and
aborted
embryos
by
adults
in
captivity. Live
neonates
were
not
eatt.'fl.
I
thank
Col.
John
Blashford-Snell
and
Julian Matthews for
inviting
me
to participate
in
the
"Land
of
EI
Dorado
Expedition"
and
all
the
members
of
the
expedition
and
the
Guyanan
Defense
Force
who
assisted
with
the
herpetological/ichthyological
sur-
veys. Particular
thanks
go
to Darren Finch
of
London
and
Mr.
Chung
of
Orinduik.
This fieldwork
was
funded
by
Discovery
Expeditions
of
Motcombe,
near
Shaftesbury, Dorset, England.
Submitted
by
MARK
T.
Q'SHEA,46
Buckingham Road, Penn,
Wolverhampton,
WV4
STJ,
England.
EUNECTES
MURINUS
GIGAS
(Northern
Green
Anaconda),
CANNIBALISM.
There
are
very
few
reported
instances
of
true
intraspecific cannibalism
amongst
the
boids
(Mitchell 1986. Can-
nibalism
in
Reptiles: A
Worldwide
Review. SSAR HerpetoL Circ.
No.
15:1-37).
We
removed
a live female
Eunectes
murinus
gigas,
1940
mm
SVL
(2320
mID
ITL),
from
a
nylon
monofilament
fisherman's
gill
net
set
above
rapids,
along
the
Guyanese
bank
of
the
Ireng
River
on
the
Guyana/Brazil
border
at
Orinduik,
western
Guyana
on
6
September
1993.
Shortly after
capture
the
anaconda
disgorged
the
recognizable
remains
of
a
smaller
conspecific.
Due
to
the
advanced
state
of
decomposition
it
was
impossible
to
determine
the exact
length
(ca.
1.5 m TTL), sex,
or
cause
of
death
of
the
cannibalized specimen.
The live
individual
was
released.
Eunectes
murinlls
is
a
known
predator
of
mammals,
waterbirds,
and
caiman,
but
I
have
been
unable
to loea te
any
reports
of
ophiophagy
or
cannibalism for this
species
in
the
wild.
However,
Holmstrom
and
Behler
(1981.
Zoo1.
Herpetological
Rl!Liew
25(3),1994
124
