Yacumama (from Quechua yaku "water" and mama "mother": "Mother of water"), is an enormous serpent believed to live in the Amazon Rainforest. The Yacumama is believed to be the mother of all aquatic animals. According to legend, the Yacumama would suck up any living thing that passed within 100 steps of it. To protect themselves, the local indigenous peoples would blow on a conch horn before entering the water, believing that the yacumama would reveal itself if it was present. It is sometimes believed to be a giant snake or caecilian known as the Minhocão.