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{{Short description|Species of snake}}

{{Taxobox | color = pink

{{Distinguish|Burmese python}}

| name = Indian Python

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

| status = {{StatusNearConcern}}

{{Speciesbox

| image = Python_head.jpg

| image = Pratik jain dahod python.JPG

| regnum = [[Animalia]]

| image_caption = Near [[Nagarhole National Park]]

| phylum = [[Chordata]]

| classisstatus = [[Reptilia]]NT

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| ordo = [[Squamata]]

| status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{cite iucn |title=''Python molurus'' |name-list-style=amp |author1=Aengals, A. |author2=Das, A. |author3=Mohapatra, P. |author4=Srinivasulu, C. |author5=Srinivasulu, B. |author6=Shankar, G. |author7=Murthy, B.H.C. |year=2021 |page=e.T58894358A1945283 |access-date=2 December 2021}}</ref>

| familia = [[Boidae]]

| genus = ''[[Python]]''

| species = ''Python molurus''

| 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>

| subspecies = '''''p.m. molurus'''''

| binomialrange_map = ''Python molurus 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}}

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

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

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

* ''Coluber boaeformis'' {{small|[[George Shaw (biologist)|Shaw]], 1802}}

* ''Python bora'' {{small|[[François Marie Daudin|Daudin]], 1803}}

* ''Python tigris'' {{small|Daudin, 1803}}

* ''Python ordinatus'' {{small|Daudin, 1803}}

* ''Python javanicus'' {{small|[[Heinrich Kuhl|Kuhl]], 1820}}

* ''Python jamesonii'' {{small|[[John Edward Gray|Gray]], 1842}}

* ''Python'' (''Asterophis'') ''tigris'' {{small|[[Leopold Fitzinger|Fitzinger]], 1843}}

}}

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 {{cvt|3|m|ftin}}.<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.

The '''Indian Python''' or '''Indian Rock Python''' (''Python molurus molurus'') is a [[python]] found in [[India]], especially in the estuarine [[mangrove]] forest, the arid scrub jungle and the cool dense rain forests.

==Description==

[[Image:Python gab fbi.png|thumb|Skull of Indian Python]]

[[ImageFile:PythonLabial molurusPits gabof fbiP molorus.pngJPG|thumb|left|Scalation ofLabial Indianheat Pythonpits]]

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.

The [[nominate subspecies]] occurring in India typically grows to {{cvt|3|m|ftin}}.<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 {{cvt|2.7|-|3.3|m|ftin}} long. Two individuals even measured nearly {{cvt|3.6|m|ftin}}.<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>

==Identification==

Pythons are very easy to identify. They are distinguished from all other Indian snakes by the presence of sensory pits on the rostral(snout shield) and first two labials. Pythons are the most massively built snakes found in the region. They grow to an average length of 4 m with the relative girth exceeding that of all other snakes, and weigh 70 to 129 pounds on an average. The longest recorded specimen measured 19 ft 2 in (5.85 m) (Cooch-Behar, West bengal). Their scales are smooth and generally glossy for a snake in good condition. They have a flattened head with large nostrils, directed upwards and situated high on the snout.Their eyes are small and the pupil vertical, with the iris apparently flecked with gold. Pythons have, what is commonly called, spurs, which are vestigial or rudimentary limbs situated on either side of the anal vent. Adult Pythons are whitish or yellowish in colour with the blotched patterns varying from shades of yellow to dark brown. The colouration also varies with terrain and habitat. The pythons of the hill forests of Western Ghats and Assam are darker, and those of the Deccan Plateau and East Coast are usually lighter.

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 {{cvt|4.6|m|ftin}} long and weighed {{cvt|52|kg|lboz}}. In Pakistan, Indian pythons commonly reach a length of {{cvt|2.4|-|3.0|m|ftin}}.<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>

The Indian python differs from the [[Burmese python]] (''Python bivittatus'') in the following ways:

==Habitat and Status==

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

Pythons usually dwell in the jungles, occuring in dense as well as open forests. In the absence of forests, they also live in rivers and jheels. They also occupy abandoned mammal burrows, hollow trees, dense water reeds and mangrove thickets, normally near a permanent water source. These snakes have often been killed for their fine skin and are [[Endangered species|endangered]]. They are now partly protected by the Tamil Nadu Government. In Kerala and Tamil Nadu, python meat is eaten by locals as the fat has purported medicinal value. Like most snakes, they take one huge meal and can go for up to two years without eating.

*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 inhabits moist, meadow 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==

==Habits==

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

Pythons are lethargic and slow moving snakes even in their native haunts, exhibiting little timidity and rarely rousing themselves to escape even when attacked. They have a peculiar method of movement, a rectilinear progression, the body moving in a straight line, which is absent in most snakes. They are very good swimmers and are quite home in water. They can be wholly submerged in water for many minutes if necessary, but usually prefer to remain near the bank.

The Indian python occurs in nearly all of the [[Indian Subcontinent]] south of the [[Himalayas]], including southern [[Nepal]] and [[Bhutan]], [[Sri Lanka]], southeastern [[Pakistan]], [[Bangladesh]], and probably in northern [[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 reliable 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/>

==FoodBehavior==

[[File:Indian python Python molurus.jpg|thumb|Swimming at [[Keoladeo National Park]]]]

Pythons feed on mammals, birds and reptiles indiscriminately, but seem to prefer mammals. Roused to activity on sighting prey, the snake will advance with quivering tail and lunge with open mouth. Live prey are constricted and killed. One or two coils are thrown around the prey, holding it in a tight grip. The prey, unable to breath, succumbs and is swallowed head first. Prior to swallowing, the prey is smelt all over with the tongue. The snake is normally disinclined to move after a heavy meal, and if forced to move, hard parts may tear through the body. After a heavy meal, a python may fast for several days or weeks, the longest recorded duration being 2 years. A lot has been said in movies and books about the danger that this beautiful snake poses to man but till date there has been ''no'' authentic case of a human being eaten by a python.

Lethargic and slow moving even in their native habitat, they exhibit timidity and rarely try to attack even when attacked. Locomotion is usually with the body moving in a straight line, by "walking on its ribs". They are excellent swimmers and are quite at home in water. They can be wholly submerged in water for many minutes if necessary, but usually prefer to remain near the bank.

===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/ | title=Python molurus (Indian Python) | 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 its 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 {{cvt|45|-|60|cm|in}} 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==

The Indian python is classified as [[Near Threatened]] on the [[IUCN Red List]] due to a likely population decline of ~30% over the decade 2010–2020, caused by habitat loss, over-exploitation, and lack of conservation actions.<ref name=IUCN/>

A genetic study published in 2017 showed that the [[Burmese pythons in Florida]] are hybrids with ''P. molurus''.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Hunter|first1=Margaret E.|last2=Johnson|first2=Nathan A.|last3=Smith|first3=Brian J.|last4=Davis|first4=Michelle C.|last5=Butterfield|first5=John S. S.|last6=Snow|first6=Ray W.|last7=Hart|first7=Kristen M.|date=2017-08-02|title=Cytonuclear discordance in the Florida Everglades invasive Burmese python (''Python bivittatus'') population reveals possible hybridization with the Indian python (''P. molurus'') |journal=Ecology and Evolution |volume=8 |issue=17 |pages=9034–9047 |doi=10.1002/ece3.4423 |pmid=30271564 |pmc=6157680}}</ref>

==Taxonomy==

In the literature, one other subspecies is 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

| last1 =Jacobs

| first1 =H.J.

|last2=Auliya|first2=M.|last3=Böhme|first3=W.

| title =On the taxonomy of the Burmese Python, ''Python molurus bivittatus'' KUHL, 1820, specifically on the Sulawesi population

| journal =Sauria

| volume =31

| issue =3

| pages =5–11

| year =2009

}}</ref> The name ''Python molurus bivittatus'' is found in older literature.

==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. -->

{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==

{{Refbegin}}

* {{cite book | author=Whitaker R. | title=Common Indian Snakes: A Field Guide | publisher=Macmillan India Limited | year=1978 | author-link= Romulus Whitaker }}

* Daniel, JC. The Book Of Indian Snakes and Reptiles. Bombay Natural History Society

{{Refend}}

==External links==

* {{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]

{{Pythonidae}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q245183}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Python (genus)]]

[[Category:Reptiles described in 1758]]

[[Category:Reptiles of Southeast Asia]]

[[Category:Reptiles of India]]

[[Category:Reptiles of Nepal]]

[[Category:Reptiles of Pakistan]]

[[Category:Reptiles of Bangladesh]]

[[Category:Reptiles of Sri Lanka]]

[[Category:Reptiles of Bhutan]]

[[Category:Reptiles of Myanmar]]

[[Category:Fauna of South Asia]]

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

[[Category:Apex predators]]