Reticulated python

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The reticulated python (Malayopython reticulatus) is a python species native to South and Southeast Asia. It is the world's longest snake, and the third heaviest snake. It is a non-venomous constrictor and an excellent swimmer that has been reported far out at sea. It has colonized many small islands within its range. Because of its wide distribution, it is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List. In several countries in its range, it is hunted for its skin, for use in traditional medicine, and for sale as pets. Due to this, it is one of the most economically important reptiles worldwide. In very rare cases, reticulated pythons killed and swallowed adult humans.

TaxonomyEdit

The reticulated python was first described in 1801 by German naturalist Johann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider, who described two zoological specimens held by the Göttingen Museum in 1801 that differed slightly in colour and pattern as separate species, Boa reticulata and Boa rhombeata.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The specific name, reticulatus, is Latin meaning "net-like", or reticulated, and is a reference to the complex color pattern.<ref name="Got">Template:Cite book</ref> The generic name Python was proposed by French naturalist François Marie Daudin in 1803.<ref>Template:Cite book (in French).</ref> American zoologist Arnold G. Kluge performed a cladistics analysis on morphological characters and recovered the reticulated python lineage as sister to the genus Python, hence not requiring a new generic name in 1993.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

In a 2004 genetics study using cytochrome b DNA, Robin Lawson and colleagues discovered the reticulated python as sister to Australo-Papuan pythons, rather than Python molurus and relatives.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Raymond Hoser erected the genus Broghammerus for the reticulated python in 2004, naming it after German snake expert Stefan Broghammer, on the basis of dorsal patterns distinct from those of the genus Python, and a dark mid-dorsal line from the rear to the front of the head, and red or orange (rather than brown) iris colour.<ref name="Hos04">Template:Cite journal</ref> In 2008, Lesley H. Rawlings and colleagues reanalysed Kluge's morphological data and combined it with genetic material, finding the reticulated clade to be an offshoot of the Australo-Papuan lineage as well. They adopted and redefined the genus name Broghammerus.<ref name="Rawl01">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Most taxonomists choose to ignore Broghammerus and other names by Hoser as its description lacked scientific rigour and was not published in a reputable journal.<ref name=Kaiser>Template:Cite journal</ref> R. Graham Reynolds and colleagues accordingly proposed the name Malayopython for this species and its sister species, the Timor python.<ref name="Reyn01">Template:Cite journal</ref> Malayopython has been recognized by subsequent authors<ref name="Barker01">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Booth01">Template:Cite journal</ref> and the Reptile Database. Hoser has argued that Broghammerus was validly published and Malayopython name is invalid as it is a junior synonym.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In 2021, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature found no basis for regarding the name Broghammerus to be invalid.<ref>ICZN. 2021. Opinion 2468 (Case 3601) - Spracklandus Hoser, 2009 (Reptilia, Serpentes, Elapidae) and Australasian Journal of Herpetology issues 1-24: confirmation of availability declined; Appendix A (Code of Ethics): not adopted as a formal criterion for ruling on cases. The Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 78:42–45.</ref> Nevertheless, the name Malayopython remains in use by reliable sources.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

SubspeciesEdit

Three subspecies have been proposed:

M. r. reticulatus (Schneider, 1801) – Asian reticulated python
M. r. jampeanus Auliya et al., 2002 – Kayaudi reticulated python or Tanahjampean reticulated python, about half the length,<ref name="Mat99">Template:Cite book</ref> or according to Auliya et al. (2002), not reaching much more than Template:Convert in length.<ref name="Aul02"/> Found on Tanahjampea in the Selayar Archipelago south of Sulawesi. Closely related to M. r. reticulatus of the Lesser Sundas.<ref name="Aul02"/>
M. r. saputrai Auliya et al., 2002 – Selayer reticulated python, occurs on Selayar Island in the Selayar Archipelago and also in adjacent Sulawesi. This subspecies represents a sister lineage to all other populations of reticulated pythons tested.<ref name="Aul02"/> According to Auliya et al. (2002) it does not exceed Template:Convert in length.<ref name="Aul02"/>

The latter two are dwarf subspecies. Apparently, the population of the Sangihe Islands north of Sulawesi represents another such subspecies, which is basal to the P. r. reticulatus plus P. r. jampeanus clade, but it is not yet formally described.<ref name="Aul02"/>

The proposed subspecies M. r. "dalegibbonsi", M. r. "euanedwardsi", M. r. "haydnmacphiei", M. r. "neilsonnemani", M. r. "patrickcouperi", and M. r. "stuartbigmorei"<ref name="Hos03">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Hos04"/> have not found general acceptance.

CharacteristicsEdit

File:Retic3.jpg

The "reticulated" net-like patterning that gives the reticulated python its name

File:Retic2.jpg

Head of a reticulated python

File:Python gab fbi.png

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 upper labials, on two or three anterior lower labials, and on five or six posterior lower labials.<ref>Template:Cite book</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 Template:Convert, and a weight range of Template:Convert.<ref name=Shine>Template:Cite journal</ref> Reticulated pythons with lengths more than Template:Convert 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">Template:Cite book</ref> One of the largest scientifically measured specimens, from Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Indonesia, was measured under anesthesia at Template:Convert and weighed Template:Convert 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 Template:Convert 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 Template:Convert in total length, and the length of its fresh hide was measured as Template:Convert.<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 alcohol, the specimen was instead prepared as a disarticulated skeleton. The hide was sent to a laboratory to be 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>Template:Cite journal</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 Template:Convert 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">Template:Cite book</ref>

Reported sizesEdit

Date	Location	Reported length	Reported weight	Reported girth	Scientifically analyzed length	Comments
October, 1859	Bayan Lepas, Penang Island, Malaysia	Template:Cvt	Not listed	Template:Cvt	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	Template:Cvt	Not listed	Template:Cvt	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">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1931–1948	Evansville, Indiana, United States	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt	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">Template:Cite book</ref>
2011	Kansas City, Missouri, United States	Template:Convert	Template:Cvt			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 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">Template:Cite book</ref>

The huge size and attractive pattern of this snake has made it a favorite zoo exhibit, with several individuals claimed to be above Template:Convert in length and more than one claimed to be the largest in captivity.<ref>Template:Cite news</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 Template:Convert snake in Indonesia which was subsequently proven to be about Template:Convert long.<ref name="reuters">Aglionby, John (2004-01-05) "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, 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 Template:Convert and weigh Template:Convert.<ref name=MedusaGBWR>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</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 Template:Cvt in length and weighed about Template:Cvt.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</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 Template:Convert in length.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Distribution and habitatEdit

File:Malayopython reticulatus, Reticulated python - Kaeng Krachan District, Phetchaburi Province (47924282891).jpg

The reticulated python is found in South and Southeast Asia from the Nicobar Islands, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore, east through Indonesia and the Indo-Australian Archipelago (Sumatra, the Mentawai Islands, the Natuna Islands, Borneo, Sulawesi, Java, Lombok, Sumbawa, Sumba, Flores, Timor, Maluku, Tanimbar Islands) and the Philippines (Basilan, Bohol, Cebu, Leyte, Luzon, Mindanao, Mindoro, Negros, Palawan, Panay, Polillo, Samar, Tawi-Tawi). The original description does not include a type locality. The type locality was restricted to "Java" by Brongersma (1972).<ref name="McD99"/>

Three subspecies have been proposed,<ref name="Aul02">Template:Cite journal</ref> but are not recognized in the Integrated Taxonomic Information System. The color and size can vary a great deal among the subspecies described. Geographical location is a good key to establishing the subspecies, as each one has a distinct geographical range.

The reticulated python lives in rainforests, woodlands, and nearby grasslands. It is also associated with rivers and is found in areas with nearby streams and lakes. An excellent swimmer, it has even been reported far out at sea and has consequently colonized many small islands within its range.<ref name="Meh87"/> During the early years of the 20th century, it is said to have been common even in busy parts of Bangkok, sometimes eating domestic animals.<ref name="Sti74">Stidworthy J (1974). Snakes of the World. Grosset & Dunlap Inc. 160 pp. Template:ISBN.</ref>

Behaviour and ecologyEdit

DietEdit

File:Python reticulatus feeding in TMII Reptil Park.jpg

A captive reticulated python eating a chicken

As with all pythons, the reticulated python is an ambush predator, usually waiting until prey wanders within strike range before seizing it in its coils and killing by constriction. Its natural diet includes mammals and occasionally birds. Small specimens up to Template:Convert long eat mainly small mammals such as rats, other rodents, mouse-eared bats, and treeshrews, whereas larger individuals switch to prey such as small Indian civet and binturong, primates, pigs, and deer weighing more than Template:Convert.<ref name="animaldiversity.org">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> As a rule, the reticulated python seems able to swallow prey up to one-quarter its own length and up to its own weight. Near human habitation, it is known to snatch stray chickens, cats, and dogs on occasion.<ref name=Shine/> Among the largest documented prey items are a half-starved sun bear of Template:Convert that was eaten by a Template:Convert specimen and took some 10 weeks to digest.<ref name="Fre05">Template:Cite journal</ref> At least one case is reported of a foraging python entering a forest hut and taking a child.<ref name="autogenerated1">Template:Cite journal</ref>

ReproductionEdit

The reticulated python is oviparous. Adult females lay between 15 and 80 eggs per clutch. At an optimum incubation temperature of Template:Cvt, the eggs take an average of 88 days to hatch.<ref name=Mat99/> Hatchlings are at least Template:Cvt in length.<ref name=Sti74/>

Danger to humansEdit

File:Reticulated-catch.jpg

Large reticulated pythons are occasionally found on the outskirts of Bangkok. Usually, a minimum of two people is required to successfully extract such a large snake.

File:Reticulated-python.jpg

Reticulated python in Pune

The reticulated python is among the few snakes that prey on humans, and is the only species of snake for which video and photographic proof exists of them having consumed humans. In 2015, the species was added to the Lacey Act of 1900, prohibiting import and interstate transport due to its "injurious" history with humans.<ref name="Lacey-ban">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Attacks on humans in captivity are not common. Wild pythons, however, are known to sometimes prey on humans, particularly in their natural habitat in Sulawesi, Indonesia. Considering the known maximum prey size, a full-grown reticulated python can open its jaws wide enough to swallow a human, but the width of the shoulders of some adult Homo sapiens can pose a problem for even a snake with sufficient size. Reports of human fatalities and human consumption (the latest examples of consumption of adult human beings well authenticated) include:

A report of a visit of Antonio van Diemen, Governor-General of the Dutch East India Company, to the Banda Islands in 1638, includes a description of an enslaved woman who, when tending to a garden on the volcanic island of Gunung Api, was strangled by a snake of "24 houtvoeten" (slightly over seven meters) in length, and then swallowed whole. The snake, having become slow after ingesting such a large prey, was subsequently shot by Dutch soldiers and brought to the Governor-General to be looked at, with its victim still inside.<ref>Nationaal Archief, 1.04.02 (VOC), 1126, fol. 409r. https://www.nationaalarchief.nl/onderzoeken/archief/1.04.02/invnr/1126/file/NL-HaNA_1.04.02_1126_0885</ref> Although less reliable than this first-hand document, several early published travel journals describe similar episodes.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
In early 20th-century Indonesia: On Salibabu island, North Sulawesi, a 14-year-old boy was killed and supposedly eaten by a specimen Template:Cvt in length. Another incident involved a woman reputedly eaten by a "large reticulated python", but few details are known.<ref name="Kop27">Template:Cite journal (in Dutch)</ref>
In the early 1910s or in 1927, a jeweller went hunting with his friends and was apparently eaten by a Template:Cvt python after he sought shelter from a rainstorm in or under a tree. Supposedly, he was swallowed feet-first, perhaps the easiest way for a snake to actually swallow a human.<ref name="Bru98">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Among a small group of Aeta peoples in the Philippines, six deaths by pythons were said to have been documented within a period of 40 years, plus one who died later of an infected bite.<ref name="autogenerated1"/>
In September 1995, a 29-year-old rubber tapper from the southern Malaysian state of Johor was reported to have been killed by a large reticulated python. The victim had apparently been caught unaware and was squeezed to death. The snake had coiled around the lifeless body with the victim's head gripped in its jaws when it was stumbled upon by the victim's brother. The python, reported as measuring Template:Cvt long and weighing more than Template:Cvt, was killed soon after by the arriving police, who shot it four times.<ref name=Mur97/>
In October 2003, a woman was reported to be eaten by a giant reticulated python at Sajek Valley in Rangamati Hill District, Bangladesh, when she was collecting paddy crops with her husband. People came to help and retrieved the woman's body from the python's belly.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In October 2008, a woman from Virginia Beach appeared to have been killed by a Template:Cvt pet reticulated python. The apparent cause of death was asphyxiation. The snake was later found in the bedroom in an agitated state.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In January 2009, a 3-year-old boy was wrapped in the coils of a Template:Cvt pet reticulated python, turning blue. The boy's mother, who had been petsitting the python on behalf of a friend, rescued him by gashing the python with a knife. The snake was later euthanized because of its wounds.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In December 2013, a 59-year-old security guard was strangled to death while trying to capture a python near the Bali Hyatt, a luxury hotel on Indonesia's resort island. The incident happened around 3 am as the 4.5-m (15-ft) python was crossing a road near the hotel. The victim had offered to help capture the snake, which had been spotted several times before near the hotel in the Sanur, Bali, area and escaped back into nearby bushes.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In March 2017, the body of Akbar Salubiro, a 25-year-old farmer in Central Mamuju Regency, West Sulawesi, Indonesia, was found inside the stomach of a Template:Cvt reticulated python. He had been declared missing from his palm tree plantation, and the people searching for him found the python the next day with a large bulge in its stomach. They killed the python and found the whole body of the missing farmer inside. This was the first fully confirmed case of a person being eaten by a python. The process of retrieving the body from the python's stomach was documented by pictures and videos taken by witnesses.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In June 2018, a 54-year-old Indonesian woman in Muna Island, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia, was killed and eaten by a Template:Cvt python. The woman went missing one night while working in her garden, and the next day, a search party was organized after some of her belongings were found abandoned in the garden. The python was found near the garden with a large bulge in its body. The snake was killed and carried into town, where it was cut open, revealing the woman's body completely intact.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In June 2020, a 16-year-old Indonesian boy was attacked and killed by a Template:Cvt long python in Bombana Regency, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. The incident took place near a waterfall at Mount Kahar in Rumbia sub-district. The victim was separated from his four friends in the woods. When he screamed, his friends came to help and found him encoiled by a large python. Villagers came to help and managed to kill the snake using a parang machete. However, the victim had already suffocated.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In October 2022, a 52-year-old woman in Terjun Gajah village, Betara Subdistrict, West Tanjung Jabung Regency, Jambi, Indonesia, was killed and swallowed whole by a Template:Cvt reticulated python. She went to tap rubber sap on 23 October 2022 and did not return home after sunset. After she was reported missing for a day and a night, a search party discovered a large python with a bulge in its body in a jungle near the rubber plantation. The villagers immediately killed and dissected the python and discovered the intact body of the missing woman inside. Villagers feared more large pythons might be present because farmers previously had reported two goats missing.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In June 2024, a woman of Kalempang village in South Sulawesi province in Indonesia went missing, and her body was discovered inside a reticulated python.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 3 weeks later, in July 2024, another woman was discovered inside a python's stomach in South Sulawesi.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In August 2024, an elderly woman was found dead after a predatory attempt by a Template:Cvt long python. The snake had killed the victim and tried to swallow her, but could not get over the shoulders, regurgitating the body instead.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 2 weeks later another woman in Jambi province was killed by a Template:Cvt python, which managed to swallow half of her body before being found and killed by the villagers.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In November 2024, a 30-year-old man was killed and swallowed whole by a Template:Cvt long specimen, the first recorded case of an adult male being eaten since 2017.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In captivityEdit

File:Reticulated Python at Little Rays Reptile Zoo.jpg

Reticulated python with an unusual color pattern: Various color patterns are found in captive-bred specimens – some brought about by selective breeding.

File:Large Python Ragunan Zoo.jpg

In Ragunan Zoo, Terrarium, South Jakarta, Indonesia

Increased popularity of the reticulated python in the pet trade is due largely to increased efforts in captive breeding and selectively bred mutations such as the "albino" and "tiger" strains. Other notable color mutations recorded in this species include "sunfire", "motley", "Aztec", "ocelot", "rainbow", and "goldenchild".<ref name=":0" /> Some mutations, such as the "BEL" (black eyed leucistic) mutations are seldom bred due the discovery that they develop fatal gastrointestinal issues upon reaching adulthood.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref> The "jaguar" color mutation is likewise controversial in the breeding of captive reticulated pythons, as certain specimens will develop neurological and osseous inner ears, similar to the "Spider" mutation that occurs in the ball python. It remains unclear as to why some individual pythons with the jaguar mutation display neurological issues associated with this genetic trait and others do not.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Smaller animals such as the proposed "super dwarf" subspecies found on small islands are likewise popular due to their smaller size, as they grow to a fraction of the lengths and weights of their mainland kin due to genetics, limited space and prey availability.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Dwarf and super dwarf reticulated pythons are likewise defined for captive animals as any reticulated pythons with at least 50 percent lineage hailing from seven select islands in the Selayer island chain near Sulawesi.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It can make a good captive, but keepers working with adults from mainland populations should have previous experience with large constrictors to ensure safety to both animal and keeper. Although its interactivity and beauty draws much attention, some feel it is unpredictable.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The python can bite and possibly constrict if it feels threatened, or mistakes a hand for food. While not venomous, large pythons can inflict serious injuries by biting, sometimes requiring stitches.