Reticulated python

Malayopython reticulatus · The reticulated python is the world's longest snake, a non-venomous constrictor native to South and Southeast Asia.

Also called Retic.

Reticulated python
Photo: Rushenb, CC BY-SA 2.0
Reticulated python
Photo: Rina.saa, CC BY-SA 4.0
Reticulated python
Photo: Rushen, CC BY-SA 2.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassReptilia
OrderSquamata
FamilyPythonidae
GenusMalayopython
SpeciesMalayopython reticulatus

Where it lives

Rainforests and woodland from Bangladesh to Indonesia and the Philippines.

Fun facts

  • This python is such an excellent swimmer that it has been spotted far out at sea, which helped it colonize many small islands.
  • Its bold geometric pattern may look garish in a zoo, but in a shadowy jungle among fallen leaves it lets the snake virtually disappear.
  • One python in Borneo ate a 23 kg sun bear and took about 10 weeks to digest it.
  • A zoo python named Medusa was reported in 2011 to measure 7.67 m long, the longest living snake ever kept in captivity according to Guinness.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).