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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
Burmese python, Asiatic rock python, tiger python |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Reptilia |
| ORDER: |
Squamata |
| FAMILY: |
Boidae |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Python molurus (serpent) bivittatus
(two lines) |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
The Burmese python is a very large, heavy-bodied
snake. It is dark brown with beige blotches and
two distinct lines that run horizontally on the
head, across each eye. |
| MALE |
text |
| FEMALE |
text |
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| SIZE: |
Adults approximately 5-6 m (15-20 ft.); hatchlings
60 cm (24 in.) |
| MALE |
text |
| FEMALE |
text |
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| WEIGHT: |
Approximately 90.7kg (200 lb.) |
| MALE |
text |
| FEMALE |
text |
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| DIET: |
Pythons feed on a variety of birds and mammals.
Being one of the world's largest snake species,
the Burmese python may feed on very large food items
such as pigs and deer. |
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| INCUBATION: |
60-80 days
Pythons
show a higher degree of parental care than many
other reptiles - they actually incubate the eggs
using heat generated by muscle twitches.
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| CLUTCH
SIZE |
Up
to 100 eggs |
| BREEDING
PERIOD |
text |
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| SEXUAL
MATURITY: |
Approximately
3 years |
| MALE |
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| FEMALE |
text |
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| LIFE
SPAN: |
A Burmese python's life span can exceed 20 years;
the longest recorded was 28 years, 3 months |
| MALE |
text |
| FEMALE |
text |
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| RANGE: |
The Burmese python is a subspecies of Python
molurus, which is found throughout southeast
Asia, from Pakistan to Indonesia (though absent
from the Philippines). The Burmese subspecies has
the largest range of the three subspecies - including
southern China, Indochina, Burma, and portions of
Indonesia (Borneo, Java, Sumatra, and the Celeb
Islands). |
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| HABITAT: |
This python's habitat varies greatly, and includes
dry forest, mountain, and open grasslands of Southeast
Asia. |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
text |
| LOCAL |
text |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
Low risk-near threatened |
| CITES |
Appendix II |
| USFWS |
Not listed |
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| 1. |
Pythons are considered a primitive snake differing
from many other species by having two functioning
lungs and vestigial, or left over, hind limbs. These
vestigial limbs look like spurs on either side of
the cloaca. |
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| 2. |
These snakes kill their prey by suffocation, not
venom. |
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| 3. |
There are reports about this species preying on
humans, but these are often myths or unfounded reports. |
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| 4. |
Of
the Python molurus subspecies, the Burmese
python is the one most commonly found in managed
situations. |
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| 5. |
text |
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| 6. |
text |
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Burmese python populations are suffering from
a variety of factors, including an ever-expanding
human population and loss of habitat.
These
large snakes are also hunted extensively for their
skins, which are used in the leather trade.
Because
Burmese pythons are known as a calm species, their
popularity in the pet trade has exploded in the
past few years.
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|
|
| Areste,
Manuel and Cebrián, Rafael.
Snakes of the World. New York: Sterling Publishing
Co., Inc., 2003. |
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| Bauchot,
Roland (ed.). Snakes: A Natural History.
New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., 1994. |
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Ernst, Carl H., and Zug, George R. Snakes in
Question. Washington: Smithsonian Institution
Press, 1996. |
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Mattison, Chris. Snakes of the World. New
York: Facts on File Publications, Inc., 1986.
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| Mehrtens,
John M. Living Snakes of the World. New York:
Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., 1987. |
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| Stafford,
Peter J. Pythons and Boas. New Jersey: T.F.H.
Publications, Inc., 1986. |
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