Indian python: Difference between revisions

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{{Distinguish|Burmese python}}

{{About||other uses of "rock python"|Rock python (disambiguation){{!}}Rock python}}

{{Speciesbox

| image = Pratik jain dahod python.JPG

| image_caption = Near [[Nagarhole National Park]]

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| authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]])<ref name="Linaeus1758">{{Cite book |last=Linnaeus |first=C. |title=Systema naturae per regna tria naturae: secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis |___location=Holmiae |publisher=Laurentii Salvii |year=1758 |volume=1 |edition= Tenth reformed |page=225 |chapter=''Coluber molurus'' |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/carolilinnisys00linn/page/225}}</ref>

| range_map = Python molurus Area.svg

| range_map_caption = Distribution of Indian python

| synonyms = * ''Boa molura'' {{small|[[Linnaeus]], 1758}}

* ''Boa ordinata'' {{small|[[Johann Gottlob Schneider|Schneider]], 1801}}

* ''Boa cinerae'' {{small|Schneider, 1801}}

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}}

The '''Indian python''' ('''''Python molurus''''') is a large [[Pythonidae|python]] species native to tropical and subtropical regions of the [[Indian subcontinent]] and [[Southeast Asia]].<ref name="McD99">{{cite book |last1=McDiarmid |first1=R. W. |last2=Campbell |first2=J. A. |last3=Touré |first3=T. |year=1999 |title=Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. Volume 1 |___location=Washington, DC |publisher=Herpetologists' League |isbn=1893777014 |chapter=''Python'' }}</ref> It is also known by the common names '''black-tailed python''',<ref name=Dit33>{{cite book |last1=Ditmars, R. L. |year=1933 |title=Reptiles of the World |edition= Revised |publisher=The MacMillan Company}}</ref> '''Indian rock python''', and '''Asian rock python'''.<ref name="Walls">{{cite book |last1=Walls, J. G. |year=1998 |title=The Living Pythons |publisher=T. F. H. Publications |isbn=0-7938-0467-1 |pages=131–142}}</ref><ref name="O'Shea">{{cite book |last1=O'Shea, M. |year=2007 |title=Boas and Pythons of the World |publisher=New Holland Publishers |isbn=978-1-84537-544-7 |pages=80–87}}</ref> Although smaller than its close relative the [[Burmese python]], it is still among the [[List of largest snakes|largest snakes in the world]]. It is generally lighter colored than the Burmese python and reaches usually {{convertcvt|3|m|ftin|abbr=on}}.<ref name=Nat.Hist.Soc.1912/><!--not a dictionary for local names in other languages: ''ajingar'' in [[Nepali language|Nepali]], ''ajgar'' in [[Hindi]] and Marathi ,ଅଜଗର (''ajagara'') in Odia, ''azdaha'' in [[Urdu]], অজগর (''awjogor''), মেঘডম্বুর (''meghdombur'') and মেগডুম (''megdum'') in [[Bengali language|Bengali]], ''hebbaavu'' (ಹೆಬ್ಬಾವು) in [[Kannada language|Kannada]], ''kondachiluva'' (కొండచిలువ) in [[Telugu language|Telugu]], ''malai paambu'' (மலைப் பாம்பு) in [[Tamil language|Tamil]] and ''malampaambu or perumpaampu'' (മലമ്പാമ്പ് or പെരുമ്പാമ്പ്) in [[Malayalam]]. --> Like all pythons, it is nonvenomous.

==Description==

[[File:Labial Pits of P molorus.JPG|thumb|Labial heat pits]]

The rock python's color pattern is whitish or yellowish with the blotched patterns varying from tan to dark brown shades. This varies with terrain and habitat. Specimens from the hill forests of [[Western Ghats]] and [[Assam]] are darker, while those from the [[Deccan Plateau]] and [[Eastern Ghats]] are usually lighter.<ref name="Whitaker">{{cite book |author=Whitaker, R. |year=2006 |title=Common Indian Snakes – A Field Guide |publisher=The Macmillan Company of India Limited |isbn=9781403929556 |edition=revised |pages=6–9}}</ref> All pythons are non-venomous.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}}

The [[nominate subspecies]] occurring in India typically grows to {{convertcvt|3|m|ftin|abbr=on}}.<ref name=Nat.Hist.Soc.1912>{{Cite journal |first=F. |last=Wall |title=A popular treatise on the common Indian snakes – The Indian Python |journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society |volume=21 |year=1912 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/populartreatiseo00wall/page/447 447]–476 |url=https://archive.org/details/populartreatiseo00wall}}</ref><ref name="Whitaker"/> This value is supported by a 1990 study in [[Keoladeo National Park]], where 25% of the python population was {{convertcvt|2.7|-|3.3|m|ftin|abbr=on}} long. Two individuals even measured nearly {{convertcvt|3.6|m|ftin|abbr=on}}.<ref name=Nat.Hist.Soc.1990>{{Cite journal |first=S. |last=Bhupathy |title=Blotch structure in individual identification of the Indian Python (''Python molurus molurus'') and its possible usage in population estimation |journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society |volume=87 |issue=3 |year=1990 |pages=399–404}}</ref>

Because of confusion with the Burmese python, exaggerations, and stretched skins in the past, the maximum length of this subspecies is difficult to tell. The longest scientifically recorded specimen, collected in Pakistan, was {{convertcvt|4.6|m|ftin|abbr=on}} long and weighed {{convertcvt|52|kg|lboz|abbr=on}}. In Pakistan, Indian pythons commonly reach a length of {{convertcvt|2.4|-|3.0|m|ftin|abbr=on}}.<ref name=Minton>{{Cite journal |first=S. A. |last=Minton |title=A contribution to the herpetology of West Pakistan |journal=Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History |volume=134 |issue=2 |year=1966 |pages=117–118 |hdl=2246/1129 |url=http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/dspace/handle/2246/1129}}</ref>

DiffersThe Indian python differs from the [[Burmese python]] (''Python bivittatus'') byin the following signsways:

*the presence of light "eyes" in the centers of spots located on the sides of the trunk;

*reddish or pinkish color of light stripes on the sides of the head;

*a diamond - shaped spot on the head blurred in the front part;

*usually lighter in color, dominated by brown, reddish-brown, yellowish-brown and grayish-brown tones;

*usually prefers a drier, more arid environment, unlike ''P. bivittatus'', which inhabitinhabits moist and meadow habitats, it usually prefers drier and aridmeadow places;environments<ref>[https://www.markoshea.info/oba3-2_india01.php Mark O'Shea — The quest species — Indian rock python & Burmese rock python]</ref>

==Distribution and habitat==

[[File:Indian Rock Python.jpg|thumb|[[Bannerghatta National Park]]]]

''P.The Indian molurus''python occurs in nearly all of the [[IndiaIndian Subcontinent]] south of the [[Himalayas]], including southern [[Nepal]], and [[PakistanBhutan]], [[Sri Lanka]], southeastern [[BhutanPakistan]], [[Bangladesh]], and probably in the north ofnorthern [[Myanmar]].<ref name=Whitaker04>{{cite book |author1=Whitaker, R. |author2=Captain, A. |year=2004 |pages=3, 12, 78–81 |title=Snakes of India. The field guide |publisher=Draco Books |___location=Chennai, India |isbn=81-901873-0-9}}</ref> It lives in a wide range of habitats, including grasslands, swamps, marshes, rocky foothills, woodlands, open forest, and river valleys. It needs a permanentreliable source of water.<ref name="Meh87">{{cite book |author1=Mehrtens, J. M. |year=1987 |title=Living Snakes of the World in Color |___location=New York |publisher=Sterling Publishers |isbn=0-8069-6460-X |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/livingsnakesofwo00mehr }}.</ref> It hides in abandoned mammal burrows, hollow trees, dense water reeds, and mangrove thickets.<ref name="Whitaker"/>

==Behavior==

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===Feeding===

[[File:MNP Python at Moyer.jpg|thumb|Swallowing a [[chital]] in [[Mudumalai National Park]]]]

Like all snakes, Indian pythons are strict carnivores and feed on mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians indiscriminately, but seem to prefer mammals.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Python_molurus/</ref> indiscriminately,| buttitle=Python seemmolurus to(Indian preferPython) mammals.| website=[[Animal Diversity Web]] }}</ref> Roused to activity on sighting prey, the snake advances with a quivering tail and lunges with an open mouth. Live prey is constricted and killed. One or two coils are used to hold it in a tight grip. The prey, unable to breathe, succumbs and is subsequently swallowed head first. After a heavy meal, they are disinclined to move. If forced to, hard parts of the meal may tear through the body. Therefore, if disturbed, some specimens disgorge their meal to escape from potential predators. After a heavy meal, an individual may fast for weeks, the longest recorded duration being 2 years. The python can swallow prey bigger than its diameter because theits jaw bones are not connected. Moreover, prey cannot escape from its mouth because of the arrangement of the teeth (which are reverse saw-like).{{cn|date=November 2021}}

===Reproduction===

[[File:Clutch of Python molurus eggs.JPG|thumb|Eggs]]

[[File:Juvenile Indian Rock Python ( P molurus) in a pensive moment.JPG|thumb|A juvenile]]

[[Oviparous]], up to 100 eggs are laid by a female, which she protects and incubates.<ref name="Meh87"/> Towards this end, they are capable of raising their body temperature above the ambient level through muscular contractions.<ref name="Vic66">{{Cite journal |first1=V. H. |last1=Hutchison |first2=H. G. |last2=Dowling |name-list-style=amp |first3=A. |last3=Vinegar |year=1966 |title=Thermoregulation in a Brooding Female Indian Python, ''Python molurus bivittatus'' |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |volume=151 |issue=3711 |pages=694–695 |doi=10.1126/science.151.3711.694|pmid=5908075 |bibcode=1966Sci...151..694H |s2cid=45839432 }}</ref> The hatchlings are {{convertcvt|45|-|60|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} in length and grow quickly.<ref name="Meh87"/> An artificial incubation method using climate-controlled environmental chambers was developed in India for successfully raising hatchlings from abandoned or unattended eggs.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Balakrishnan |first1=P- |last2=Sajeev |first2=T.V. |last3=Bindu |first3=T.N. |title=Artificial incubation, hatching and release of the Indian Rock Python ''Python molurus'' (Linnaeus, 1758), in Nilambur, Kerala |journal=Reptile Rap |date=2010 |volume=10 |pages=24–27 |url=http://www.tropicalecology.in/pdf/Python%20molurus_incubation_Peroth%20Balakrishnan%20et%20al_Reptile%20Rap%202010.pdf |access-date=2014-10-25 |archive-date=2018-08-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180827220044/http://www.tropicalecology.in/pdf/Python%20molurus_incubation_Peroth%20Balakrishnan%20et%20al_Reptile%20Rap%202010.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Conservation status==

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==Taxonomy==

In the literature, one other subspecies may beis encountered: ''P. m. pimbura'' [[Paules Edward Pieris Deraniyagala|Deraniyagala]], 1945, which is found in [[Sri Lanka]].

The [[Burmese python]] (''P. bivittatus'') was referred to as a subspecies of the Indian python until 2009, when it was elevated to full species status.<ref>{{cite journal

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==In culture==

[[Kaa]], a large and old Indian python, is featured as one of Mowgli's mentors in [[Rudyard Kipling]]'s 1894 collection ''[[The Jungle Book]]''.

==References==<!-- BiodiversConserv17:2037. -->

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==External links==

{{Commons}}

* {{NRDB species|genus=Python|species=molurus|date=13 September|year=2007}}

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070611182948/http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/snakes/indian_python.htm Indian Python] at [http://ecologyasia.com/ Ecology Asia]. Accessed 13 September 2007.

* [http://animalpicturesarchive.com/list.php?qry=Indian%20python Indian python] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120504063352/http://animalpicturesarchive.com/list.php?qry=Indian%20python |date=2012-05-04 }} at [http://animalpicturesarchive.com/ Animal Pictures Archive] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070716225741/http://www.animalpicturesarchive.com/ |date=2007-07-16 }}. Accessed 13 September 2007.

* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/species/Python_molurus Watch Indian rock python (''Python molurus'') video clips from the BBC archive on Wildlife Finder]

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{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Python (genus)|molurus]]

[[Category:Reptiles described in 1758]]

[[Category:Reptiles of Southeast Asia]]

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[[Category:Reptiles of Myanmar]]

[[Category:Fauna of South Asia]]

[[Category:TaxaAnimal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]

[[Category:Apex predators]]