python

[Probably French, from Latin Pȳthōn, mythical serpent killed by Apollo near Delphi. See Python.]

For more information on python, visit Britannica.com.

(Pythonidae)

Class: Reptilia

Order: Squamata

Suborder: Serpentes

Family: Pythonidae

Thumbnail description
Small to giant, finely scaled, oviparous, constricting snakes possessing paired lungs, cloacal spurs, and supraorbital bone

Size
1.5–33 ft (0.5–10.1 m) in length, with a weight of 0.3–320 lb (0.14–145 kg)

Number of genera, species
8 genera; 32 species

Habitat
Rocky and sandy deserts, savanna, open woodlands, and forest

Conservation status
Endangered: 1 species; Vulnerable: 31 species

Distribution
Sub-Saharan Africa, southern Asia and Southeast Asia, southeastern China, Indonesia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, and Australia

Evolution and systematics

There are few snake fossils that can be incontrovertibly identified as pythons; these fossils are relatively recent, and all have been assigned to extant genera. Snake fossils from the mid- to late Miocene in Australia have been identified as Liasis and Morelia (formerly Montypythonoides). Fossils assigned to the genus Python are known from the Pliocene of eastern Africa.

Pythons are considered to be basal macrostomatans, one of several ophidian lineages that diverged from the primitive alethinophidians near the end of the Cretaceous. Macrostomatan snakes are distinguished by characters of the skull and musculature that allow them increased jaw flexibility, a greater gape, and the ability to consume larger prey. The pythons likely evolved in the Australo-Papuan region where today they exist with the greatest diversity. Seven of the eight genera of pythons occur in Australia and New Guinea. The genus Aspidites, an Australian endemic, is the sister taxon to all other pythons. It is assumed that Python, the most widespread genus, evolved in the Indo-Papuan region and dispersed north to Southeast Asia and then west into Africa.

Pythons share many characters with other basal macrostomatan snakes, including fully functional paired lungs, smooth scales (with some exceptions), vestiges of a pelvic girdle, and cloacal spurs. A cloacal spur is a claw-like structure used in courtship that is found on either side of the anal scale; male pythons tend to have larger cloacal spurs than female pythons. Characters shared with the Boidae, the sister taxon of the Pythonidae, include elliptical pupils and pitted lip scales that are associated with thermoreception. Thermoreception is the ability to sense differences in temperatures.

Pythons differ from boas in numerous characters, including: The supraorbital bone of pythons is in contact with the prefrontal. The supraorbital bone is a small bone located at the top of the eye socket. Only one taxon of boa possesses a supraorbital bone, and it does not contact the prefrontal. Python labial pits are located in the centers of the lip scales; when present in boas, pits are located between the lip scales. Two premaxilla are fused together to make the small bone at the front of the upper jaw: the premaxilla of most adult pythons is toothed, while the premaxilla of boid snakes is without teeth. All pythons are oviparous and lay eggs, while all but three taxa of boid snakes give live birth.

The Pythonidae is a widely distributed lineage that is undoubtedly more species-rich than is recognized currently. Mainly because of the practical problems involved in preserving and caring for large specimens, there is a surprising paucity of representative material from most python populations in museum collections. In 2000 and 2001, taxonomic revisions resulted in an increase in the number of python species from 25 species to the currently recognized 32 species. There is little doubt that future investigations will identify more taxa. No subfamilies are recognized.

Physical characteristics

While pythons are widely known for their great size, only three of the 32 species exceed 20 ft (6.1 m) in length. The smallest of the three is the Indian python, Python molurus, with records of wild specimens ranging from 19 to 22 ft (5.8 to 6.7 m). As of 2002, there were numerous living captive specimens that are purported to exceed 22 ft (6.7 m) and 300 lb (136 kg). Records for the African rock python, Python sebae, range from 28 to 32 ft (8.5 to 9.8 m). The most commonly cited maximum length for any snake is 33 ft (10.1 m); that length is based on a reticulated python P. reticulatus killed in Sulawesi in 1912. The largest snake ever kept in captivity was a reticulated python named Colossus, kept at the Pittsburgh Zoo from 1949 until 1956; that snake was measured reliably as 28 ft (8.5 m), 6 in (15 cm) and weighed 320 lb (145 kg).

Most pythons are cryptically patterned with blotches, bands, or rings. About one third of the species are patternless, nearly patternless, or have a patternless appearance. Most species undergo a color change as they mature. Many pythons have the ability to change color to a slight degree, but three taxa, Morelia oenpelliensis, Morelia carinata, and Apodora papuana, can change the hue and intensity of their color dramatically and exhibit about the highest development of this ability among all snakes. Many pythons display iridescent colors that reflect off their skins. The ringed python (Bothrochilus boa), the white-lipped python (Leiopython albertisii), and the black python (Morelia boeleni) are among the most iridescent snakes in the world.

Distribution

Pythons occur in sub-Saharan Africa, southern Asia, Southeast Asia, southeastern China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, and Australia. There are no pythons in the Western Hemisphere. The genus Python is the most widespread, occurring in Africa, Asia, Philippines, and western Indonesia in the Greater Sundas, Lesser Sundas, and Sulawesi. The genus Morelia is distributed extensively throughout Australia, New Guinea, and the Indonesian province of Maluku. Liasis occurs in northern Australia, central-southern New Guinea, and islands in the Indonesia province of Nusa Tenggara. Aspidites is endemic to Australia. Antaresia, long considered to be endemic to Australia, was discovered in 2001 to occur in south-central New Guinea. Apodora and Leiopython occur through the lower elevations of New Guinea and nearby islands. Bothrochilus is restricted to islands in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea.

Habitat

Pythons can be found in a variety of habitats, including harsh deserts, wetlands, gum tree forest, open woodlands, savanna, rocky slopes, and rainforests. For about six months of the year, water pythons (Liasis fuscus) are essentially aquatic, living in the vast monsoon-flooded plains of northern Australia. The Lesser Sundas python, Python timoriensis, is a terrestrial species adapted to the rolling grasslands of Flores and nearby smaller islands. The green python, Morelia viridis, has obvious adaptations for an arboreal life in forests, including green coloration, a laterally compressed body, and a long tail adapted for grasping.

Desert-adapted python species, such as the woma, Aspidites ramsayi, of central Australia and the Angolan python, Python anchietae, found in the rocky escarpment along the eastern margin of the Namib desert in Angola and Namibia, survive in areas that receive little or no precipitation in some years. Contrast that to the ringed python living on New Ireland with more than 400 in (more than 10 m) of annual precipitation.

Most python species occurring in New Guinea can be found at elevations from sea level to at least 5,000 ft (1,500 m). The African rock python, P. sebae, has been recorded at elevations up to 7,500 ft (2,300 m). The black python, M. boeleni, endemic to the New Guinea highland, holds the elevation record for pythons; it is encountered most commonly at elevations of 5,500–8,000 ft (1,700–2,400 m), living on eroded karst slopes overgrown with low heather and scrub brush.

Behavior

Little is known about the behavior of pythons in nature. The 1990s saw the first radio-tracking studies documenting the behavior, natural history, and ecology of several python taxa, mostly in Australia. Pythons tend to be nocturnal, but they often are encountered moving or basking during the day. Faced with a perceived threat, a python will display an instinctive and stereotypic defensive behavior. Most python species incorporate hissing, striking, and biting into their defense, along with the release of musk and feces. The ball python, Python regius, rarely actively defends itself, preferring to coil the body into a ball, with the head pulled into the center of the coils. The rough-scaled python, Morelia carinata, exhibits an open-mouth threat display, extending its open mouth toward the perceived threat and exhibiting its extra-ordinarily long teeth while waving the head from side to side.

Most pythons occur in temperate or tropical climates. There is anecdotal evidence that suggests that most taxa are inactive for a portion of the year, during which time breeding takes place. The timing of this inactive period usually is dictated by seasonal heat, drought, or cool weather. The diamond python, Morelia s. spilota, of southeastern Australia hibernates during the winter months, often choosing rock shelters with northern and western exposures.

Feeding ecology and diet

Pythons are primarily ambush hunters that consume vertebrate prey. Pythons can and do incorporate active foraging behavior as well. Lizards make up a large percentage of the diet of small pythons, both small taxa and the young of larger taxa. With an increase in size, mammals become an increasingly significant percentage of the diet. Many pythons consume birds when given the opportunity, but birds make up a small portion of the diet of pythons in nature. Pythons occasionally consume snakes; the genera Aspidites, Antaresia, Apodora, and Bothrochilus regularly include snakes in their diets. There are records of attacks on humans by the three largest species, dating back to the early eighteenth century. While such predation is rare, it is undisputed that reticulated pythons, African pythons, and Indian pythons grab and constrict humans from time to time and then attempt to consume them; they sometimes succeed.

Reproductive biology

All pythons reproduce by laying eggs. Python eggs range from the size of a grape in the case of the pygmy python, Antaresia perthensis, to the size of a medium white potato in the case of the reticulated python, P. reticulatus. Python eggs are white, and when freshly laid the shells are taut and leathery to the touch. Typically, all or most of the eggs in a clutch adhere together for the duration of incubation.

When eggs are laid, female pythons tightly wrap coils around the eggs and remain with their clutches until they hatch. During incubation, the females of many species of pythons are capable of elevating their body temperatures. A female accomplishes this thermal feat by increasing her metabolic rate either through rhythmic muscle contractions that give the impression that she is shivering or by isotonic muscle contractions that allow her to remain motionless. Some pythons are observed to supplement their thermal exertions during incubation by briefly leaving their clutches to bask and then returning to the task of incubating the eggs when their bodies have been warmed by the sun.

Conservation status

All pythons are listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN and are on CITES Appendix II. A subspecies of the Indian python, P. m. molurus, is listed as Endangered by IUCN and is on CITES Appendix I. It also is considered Endangered by the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Pythons receive varying degrees of protection in the countries in which they occur. Australia, India, Papua New Guinea, South Africa, and Namibia are notable for the degree of protection they afford to their indigenous pythons. Little is known about the status of any python species in the wild. No baseline population density studies are published. There is anecdotal evidence to suggest that populations of several of the larger species, notably reticulated pythons and Indian pythons, are in decline or have been locally extirpated. At this time there is no evidence that any species is endangered by human activities.

Significance to humans

Throughout their range, pythons are considered an important natural resource by indigenous peoples. Pythons are consumed as food, and python parts are used in folk medicine. Python skins from the larger species are a valuable commodity. During the 1990s about a million python skin exports were reported annually to CITES, but authorities believe that the actual number is higher. Many of the larger python species are considered to be livestock predators. Throughout many rural areas of Indonesia and Southeast Asia, reticulated pythons are feared as human predators. Conversely, pythons are revered by some cultures. They are kept in captivity all over the world. All species but one have been reproduced in captivity. The captive breeding of pythons for pets is a multimillion-dollar annual enterprise in the United States and Europe.

Species accounts

Resources

Barker, David G., and Tracy M. Barker. Pythons of the World. Vol. 1, Australia. Lakeside, CA: Advanced Vivarium Systems, Inc., 1994.

Cogger, Harold, G. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia. Sydney, Australia: Reed New Holland, 2000.

Greene, Harry W. Snakes: The Evolution of Mystery in Nature. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997.

Minton, Sherman A., and Madge Rutherford Minton. Giant Reptiles. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1973.

Murphy, John C., and Robert W. Henderson. Tales of Giant Snakes: A Historical Natural History of Anacondas and Pythons. Malabar, FL: Krieger Publishing Company, 1997.

O'Shea, Mark. A Guide to the Snakes of Papua New Guinea. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea: Independent Publishing Group, 1996.

Pope, Clifford Millhouse. The Giant Snakes: The Natural History of the Boa Constrictor, the Anaconda, and the Largest Pythons, Including Comparative Facts About Other Snakes and Basic Information on Reptiles in General. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1961.

Torr, Geordie. Pythons of Australia: A Natural History. Sydney, Australia: University of New South Wales Press, 2000.

Kluge, Arnold G. "Aspidites and the Phylogeny of the Pythonine Snakes." Records of the Australian Museum Supplement 19 (1993): 1–78.

McDowell, S. B. "A Catalogue of the Snakes of New Guinea and the Solomons, with Special Reference to Those in the Bernice P. Bishop Museum. Part 2. Anilioidae and Pythonidae." Journal of Herpetology 9, no. 1 (1975): 1–79.

Weigel, J., and T. Russell. "A Record of a Third Specimen of the Rough-Scaled Python, Morelia carinata." Herpetofauna 23, no. 2 (1993): 1–5.

[Article by: David G. Barker; Tracy M. Barker]

Large snake, up to 26 ft long, with big, square head, prominent jaws and a distinct neck. Awesome but not venomous. Includes carpet snakes often kept as housepets because of their appetite for rodents which they swallow whole.

Python
Indian python, P. molurus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Pythonidae
Genus:	Python Daudin, 1803
Synonyms
Python - Daudin, 1803 Constrictor - Wagler, 1830 Enygrus - Wagler, 1830 Engyrus - Gary, 1831 Enygris - Gray, 1842 Heleionomus - Gray, 1842 Hortulia - Gray, 1842 Asterophis - Fitzinger, 1843 Aspidoboa - Sauvage, 1884[1]

Common names: pythons.^[2]

Python [Gr. Πύθων] is a genus of non-venomous pythons found in Africa and Asia. Currently, 7 species are recognized.^[2]

Contents 1 Geographic range 2 Species 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

Geographic range

Found in Africa in the tropics south of the Sahara, but not in southern Africa, the extreme southwestern tip, or in Madagascar. In Asia it is found from Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka, including the Nicobar Islands, through Myanmar, east to Indochina, southern China, Hong Kong and Hainan, as well as in the Malayan region of Indonesia and the Philippines.^[1]

P. molurus is an invasive species in North America and is becoming quite abundant in South Florida and the Everglades.^[3].

Species

Species[2]	Taxon author[2]	Subsp.*[2]	Common name	Geographic range[1]
P. anchietae	Bocage, 1887	0	Angolan python	Africa in southern Angola and northern Namibia.
P. curtus	Schlegel, 1872	2	Short tailed python	Southeast Asia in southern Thailand, Malaysia (Peninsular and Sarawak) (including Pinang) and Indonesia (Sumatra, Riau Archipelago, Lingga Islands, Bangka Islands, Mentawai Islands and Kalimantan).
P. molurusT	(Linnaeus, 1758)	1	Indian python	Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, southern Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, southern China, (Sichuan and Yunnan east to Fujian, Hainan, Hong Kong), Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Peninsula Malaysia and Indonesia (Java, Sumbawa, Sulawesi).
P. regius	(Shaw, 1802)	0	Royal python	Africa from Senegal, Mali, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Benin, Niger and Nigeria through Cameroon, Chad and the Central African Republic to Sudan and Uganda.
P. reticulatus	(Schneider, 1801)	0	Reticulated python	Southeast Asia from the Nicobar Islands, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, east through Indonesia and the Indo-Australian Archipelago (Sumatra, Mentawai Islands, 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).
P. sebae	(Gmelin, 1788)	1	African rock python	Africa south of the Sahara from Senegal east to Ethiopia and Somalia, including Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Upper Volta, Ghana, Togo, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, Rwanda, Burundi, Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe south to northern Namibia, Botswana and northeastern South Africa (to Natal).
P. timoriensis	(Peters, 1876)	0	Timor python	Indonesia on the Lesser Sunda Islands (Flores, Lombien and Timor Islands).

*) Not including the nominate subspecies.
^T) Type species.^[1]

See also

• List of pythonid species and subspecies.
• Pythonidae by common name.
• Pythonidae by taxonomic synonyms.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, vol. 1. Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} Python (TSN 202186). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved on 11 September 2007.
3. ^ Python Snakes, An Invasive Species In Florida, Could Spread To One Third Of US at ScienceDaily. Accessed 18 October 2008.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Python (genus)

• Python at the TIGR Reptile Database. Accessed 11 September 2007.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - pythonslange

Nederlands (Dutch)
python

Français (French)
n. - python

Deutsch (German)
n. - Python, Pythonschlange

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (ζωολ.) πύθωνας

Italiano (Italian)
pitone

Português (Portuguese)
n. - pitão (m), jibóia (f)

Русский (Russian)
питон

Español (Spanish)
n. - pitón

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - pytonorm, spåman

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
大蟒, 巨蟒

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 大蟒, 巨蟒

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 비단뱀, 이무기, 무당등에 붙은 귀신

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - ニシキヘビ

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) أفعى كبير‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮פיתון (נחש חונק)‬

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