Editing Reticulated python (section)

==Characteristics==
[[File:Retic3.jpg|thumb|The "reticulated" net-like patterning that gives the reticulated python its name]]
[[File:Retic2.jpg|thumb|Head of a reticulated python]]
[[File:Python gab fbi.png|alt=Skull diagram|thumb|Skull of a reticulated python]]
The reticulated python has smooth [[dorsal scales]] that are arranged in 69–79 rows at midbody. Deep pits occur on four [[anterior]] [[Supralabial scale|upper labials]], on two or three anterior [[Sublabial scale|lower labials]], and on five or six [[posterior (anatomy)|posterior]] lower labials.<ref>{{cite book |author=Boulenger, G.A. |author-link=George Albert Boulenger |year=1893 |title=Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History) |volume=I, Containing the Families ... Boidæ ...|location=London |publisher=Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History) |pages=85–86 |chapter=''Python reticulatus'' |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924024781969/page/n101/mode/2up}}</ref>

The reticulated python is the largest snake native to Asia. More than a thousand wild reticulated pythons in southern [[Sumatra]] were studied, and estimated to have a length range of {{convert|1.5|to|6.5|m|ftin|abbr=on}}, and a weight range of {{convert|1|to|75|kg|lboz|abbr=on}}.<ref name=Shine>{{cite journal|vauthors=[[Richard Shine|Shine R]], [[species:Peter S. Harlowe|Harlow PS]], [[species:J. Scott Keogh|Keogh JS]], [[species:Boeadi|Boeadi]] |year=1998|title=The influence of sex and body size on food habits of a giant tropical snake, ''Python reticulatus'' |journal=Functional Ecology |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=248–258| doi=10.1046/j.1365-2435.1998.00179.x |s2cid=46957156|doi-access= |bibcode=1998FuEco..12..248S}}</ref> Reticulated pythons with lengths more than {{convert|6|m|ftin|abbr=on}} are rare, though according to the ''[[Guinness Book of World Records]]'', it is the only extant snake to regularly exceed that length.<ref name = "Wood">{{cite book | author=Wood, G. |title=The Guinness Book of Animal Facts and Feats |year=1983 |publisher=Guinness Superlatives |isbn=978-0-85112-235-9}}</ref> One of the largest scientifically measured specimens, from [[Balikpapan]], [[East Kalimantan]], [[Indonesia]], was measured under anesthesia at {{convert|6.95|m|ftin|abbr=on}} and weighed {{convert|59|kg|lboz|abbr=on}} after not having eaten for nearly 3 months.<ref name="Fre05"/>

The specimen once widely accepted as the largest-ever "accurately" measured snake, that being Colossus, a specimen kept at the Highland Park Zoo (now the [[Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium]]) in [[Pittsburgh]], [[Pennsylvania]], during the 1950s and early 1960s, with a peak reported length of {{convert|8.7|m|ftin}} from a measurement in November 1956, was later shown to have been substantially shorter than previously reported. When Colossus died on 14 April 1964, its body was deposited in the [[Carnegie Museum of Natural History]]. At that time, its skeleton was measured and found to be {{convert|20|ft|10|in|m|abbr=on}} in total length, and the length of its fresh hide was measured as {{convert|23|ft|11|in|m|abbr=on}}.<ref name=Bar12/> The hide tends to stretch from the skinning process, thus may be longer than the snake from which it came – e.g., by roughly 20–40% or more.<ref name=Mur97/> The previous reports had been constructed by combining partial measurements with estimations to compensate for "kinks", since completely straightening an extremely large live python is virtually impossible. Because of these issues, a 2012 journal article concluded, "Colossus was neither the longest snake nor the heaviest snake ever maintained in captivity." Too large to be preserved with [[formaldehyde]] and then stored in [[ethanol|alcohol]], the specimen was instead prepared as a disarticulated skeleton. The hide was sent to a laboratory to be [[Tanning (leather)|tanned]], but it was either lost or destroyed, and now only the skull and selected vertebrae and ribs remain in the museum's collection.<ref name=Bar12>{{cite journal |last1=Barker |first1=D. G. |last2=Barten |first2=S. L. |last3=Ehrsam |first3=J. P. |last4=Daddono |first4=L. |year=2012 |title=The Corrected Lengths of Two Well-known Giant Pythons and the Establishment of a new Maximum Length Record for Burmese Pythons, ''Python bivittatus '' |journal= Bulletin of the Chicago Herp. Society |volume=47 |issue=1 |pages=1–6 |url=http://www.vpi.com/sites/default/files/Barker-et-al_CorrectPythonLengths_2.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.vpi.com/sites/default/files/Barker-et-al_CorrectPythonLengths_2.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live}}</ref> Considerable confusion exists in the literature over whether Colossus was male or female (females tend to be larger).<ref name=Bar12/><ref name=Mur97/>
Numerous reports have been made of larger snakes, but since none of these was measured by a scientist nor any of the specimens deposited at a museum, they must be regarded as unproven and possibly erroneous. In spite of what has been, for many years, a standing offer of a large financial reward (initially $1,000, later raised to $5,000, then $15,000 in 1978 and $50,000 in 1980) for a live, healthy snake {{convert|30|ft|m|2|abbr=on}} or longer by the [[New York Zoological Society]] (later renamed as the Wildlife Conservation Society), no attempt to claim this reward has ever been made.<ref name="Mur97">{{cite book|first1=John C.|last1=Murphy|author-link=species:John C. Murphy |first2=Robert W. |last2=Henderson|author2-link=species:Robert W. Henderson |date=1997|title=Tales of Giant Snakes: A Historical Natural History of Anacondas and Pythons |publisher=Krieger Publishing Co.|isbn=978-0-89464-995-0|pages=24–26, 35, 47–50, 55–56}}</ref>

=== Reported sizes ===
{|class="wikitable sortable collapsible collapsed"
|-
! Date !! Location !! Reported length !! Reported weight !! Reported girth !! Scientifically analyzed length !! Comments
|-
|October, 1859
|[[Bayan Lepas]], [[Penang Island]], [[Malaysia]]
|{{cvt|853.4|cm}}
|Not listed
|{{cvt|81.28|cm}}
|Not listed
|Discovered eating a pig on the road to [[Teluk Kumbar]] and killed<ref name="Guinness Book of World Records Animal Facts and Feats"/>
|-
|-
|1912
|[[Sulawesi Island]], [[Indonesia]]
|{{cvt|998.2|cm}}
|Not listed
|{{cvt|30.48|cm}}
|Not listed
|Reported to have been shot near a mining camp. Account given by explorer [[Henry C Raven]]. One photo was taken, but the body was not preserved.<ref name="Guinness Book of World Records Animal Facts and Feats">{{cite book |last=Wood |first=G. L. |title=Guinness Book of World Records Animal Facts and Feats |publisher=Sterling Pub Co., Inc |year=1982 |isbn=978-0851122359}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/dec/30/indonesia.johnaglionby |title=Captured python said to be world's biggest snake |newspaper=The Guardian |date=2003 |last1=Aglionby |first1=J.}}</ref>
|-
|-
|1931–1948
|[[Evansville, Indiana]], United States
|{{cvt|1023.62|cm}}
|{{cvt|303.907|kg}}
|Not listed
|Not listed
|Kept at [[Mesker Zoo]] between 1931 and 1948. Exceptional weight claim believed to be in error.<ref name="Tales of Giant Snakes: A Historical Natural History of Anacondas and Pythons">{{cite book |last1=Murphy |first1=John C. |last2=Henderson |first2=Robert W. |title=Tales of Giant Snakes: A Historical Natural History of Anacondas and Pythons |publisher=Krieger Pub Co. |year=1997 |isbn=0894649957}}</ref>
|-
|-
|2011 
|[[Kansas City, Missouri]], United States
|{{convert|767|cm|abbr=on}}
|{{cvt|158.8|kg}}
|
|
|Named "Medusa"; considered by the ''[[Guinness Book of World Records]]'' to be the longest (verified) living snake ever kept in captivity<ref name=MedusaGBWR/>
|}

The colour pattern is a complex geometric [[patterns in nature|pattern]] that incorporates different colours. The back typically has a series of irregular diamond shapes flanked by smaller markings with light centers. In this species' wide geographic range, much variation of size, colour, and markings commonly occurs.

In zoo exhibits, the colour pattern may seem garish, but in a shadowy jungle environment amid fallen leaves and debris, it allows them to virtually disappear. Called [[disruptive colouration]], it protects them from predators and helps them to catch their prey.<ref name="Meh87">{{cite book |author=Mehrtens J.M. |year=1987 |title=Living Snakes of the World in Color |place=New York |publisher=Sterling Publishers |isbn=0-8069-6460-X}}</ref>

The huge size and attractive pattern of this snake has made it a favorite zoo exhibit, with several individuals claimed to be above {{convert|20|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} in length and more than one claimed to be the largest in captivity.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/columbus-zoo-pays-to-keep-largest-snake-in-captivity-on-permanent-display | work=Fox News | title=Columbus Zoo Pays to Keep Largest Snake in Captivity on Permanent Display | date=14 January 2008}}</ref> However, due to its huge size, immense strength, aggressive disposition, and the mobility of the skin relative to the body, it is very difficult to get exact length measurements of a living reticulated python, and weights are rarely indicative, as captive pythons are often obese.<ref name="Mur97"/> Claims made by zoos and animal parks are sometimes exaggerated, such as the claimed {{convert|14.85|m|ftin|abbr=on}} snake in [[Indonesia]] which was subsequently proven to be about {{convert|6.5|-|7|m|ftin|abbr=on}} long.<ref name="reuters">Aglionby, John (2004-01-05) [https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/jan/05/animalwelfare.indonesia "Stay still, will you?"]. ''Guardian''. Retrieved on 2012-08-21.</ref> For this reason, scientists do not accept the validity of length measurements unless performed on a dead or anesthetized snake that is later preserved in a museum collection or stored for scientific research.<ref name="Mur97"/>

A reticulated python kept in the [[United States]] in [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]], [[Missouri]], named "Medusa" is considered by the ''[[Guinness Book of World Records]]'' to be the longest living snake ever kept in captivity. In 2011 it was reported to measure {{convert|7.67|m|ftin|abbr=on}} and weigh {{convert|158.8|kg|lboz|abbr=on}}.<ref name=MedusaGBWR>{{cite web |title=Longest snake – ever (captivity) |url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/longest-snake-ever-(captivity) |website=Guinness Book of World Records |date=2011 |access-date=2016-02-04}}</ref>

In 2012, an albino reticulated python, named "Twinkie", housed in [[Fountain Valley, California]], was considered to be the largest [[albino]] snake in captivity by the [[Guinness World Records]]. It measured {{Cvt|7|m|ftin}} in length and weighed about {{Cvt|168|kg|lb}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Largest albino snake in captivity |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/106228-largest-albino-snake-in-captivity |website=Guinness World Records |date=7 December 2012}}</ref>

Dwarf forms of reticulated pythons also occur, from some islands northwest of Australia, and these are being selectively bred in captivity to be much smaller, resulting in animals often referred to as "super dwarfs". Adult super dwarf reticulated pythons are typically between {{convert|1.82|and|2.4|m|ftin|abbr=on}} in length.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Care-Sheets/Snakes/Reticulated-Python/|title=Reticulated Python Care Sheet|website=www.reptilesmagazine.com|date=25 September 2012|access-date=2018-07-07}}</ref>