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Species in News: Python
Context:
Recently, in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, two women were killed and swallowed by reticulated pythons, an occurrence often found in folklore. Scientists suggest these encounters may be linked to forest clearing for the thriving oil palm industry in Indonesia.
Pythons: Characteristics and Behavior
♦ Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Infraorder: Alethinophidia
Family: Pythonidae
- Pythons are some of the largest snakes in the world.
- These big, non-venomous snakes can range from 23 inches to 33 feet in length.
- Depending on the species, Pythons live in a wide range of habitats, but many seek shelter in trees and can hold onto branches with their tails.
- Species and Distribution: About 40 species, primarily in the Old World tropics and subtropics.
- Size: Reticulated python (Malayopython reticulatus) is the longest, reaching 7–8 metres (23–26.2 feet).
- Habitat: They are mostly terrestrial to semi-arboreal, but some, like the green tree python (Morelia viridis), are strongly arboreal.
- Behaviour: Terrestrial pythons are often near water and are proficient swimmers but hunt and eat primarily on land.
- Diet: Larger pythons prey on mammals and birds; smaller species also eat amphibians and reptiles
- Sensory Abilities: They have good senses of smell and sight and can detect heat using infrared-sensitive pits between their lip scales, allowing them to see heat shadows of mammals and birds even in the dark.
- Hunting: Capture prey by striking and biting, followed by constriction; secrete mucus with harmless trace amounts of venom proteins when swallowing prey.
- Reproduction: Oviparous (egg-laying): Females coil around and brood their eggs, selecting thermally stable nesting sites and generating heat by shivering to maintain constant incubation temperatures.
 
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