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{{Short description|Species of snake}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Central African rock python
| image = Adult Female Python sebae 1.33aspect.jpg
| image_caption = Adult female
| status = NT
| status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn |title=''Python sebae'' |name-list-style=amp |author=Alexander, G.J. |author2=Tolley, K.A. |author3=Penner, J. |author4=Luiselli, L. |author5=Jallow, M. |author6=Segniagbeto, G. |author7=Niagate, B. |author8=Howell, K. |author9=Beraduccii, J. |author10=Msuya, C.A. |author11=Ngalason, W. |year=2021 |page=e.T13300572A13300582 |accessdate=2 December 2021}}</ref>
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| genus = Python
| species = sebae
| authority = ([[Johann Friedrich Gmelin|Gmelin]],
| range_map = Natural Range of Python sebae.svg
| range_map_caption = <div style="text-align:left;">
{{legend|#48DF38|border=1px solid #48DF38|Range of ''Python
{{legend|#F07647|border=1px solid #F07647|Range of ''Python
{{legend|#F4EA31|border=1px solid #F4EA31|Range of hybrids}}</div>
| range_map_alt = Map of Africa showing highlighted range of two subspecies covering much of the continent south of the Sahara
| synonyms_ref = <ref name="McD99">[[:fr:Roy Wallace McDiarmid|McDiarmid RW]], [[Jonathan A. Campbell|Campbell JA]], Touré TA (1999). ''Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1''. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. {{ISBN|1-893777-00-6}} (series). {{ISBN|1-893777-01-4}} (volume).</ref>
| synonyms = {{hidden begin|title=Synonymy}}
*''Coluber sebae'' <small>[[Johann Friedrich Gmelin|Gmelin]],
*''Coluber speciosus'' <small>[[Pierre Joseph Bonnaterre|Bonnaterre]], 1790</small>
*''Boa hieroglyphica'' <small>[[Johann Gottlob Schneider|Schneider]], 1801</small>
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}}
The '''Central African rock python''' ('''''Python sebae''''') is a [[species]] of large constrictor snake in the [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Pythonidae]]. The species is native to [[sub-Saharan Africa]]. It is one of
Africa's largest snake and one of the
The snake is widely feared, though it is nonvenomous and very rarely kills humans. Although the snake is not endangered, it does face threats from habitat reduction and hunting. Some cultures in
==Taxonomy and etymology==
The Central African rock python is <!-- conflicts with intro one of ten species --> in the [[genus]] ''Python'', large constricting snakes found in the moist tropics of Asia and Africa.
''P. sebae'' was first described by [[Johann Friedrich Gmelin]], a German naturalist, in
The [[Genus|generic name]]
|''Python sebae sebae''▼
==Description==
[[File:Albertus Seba Python sebae.jpg|thumb|left|An 18th-century illustration]]
Africa's largest snake species<ref name=Holland>{{cite book|title=Boas and Pythons of the World|year=2007|publisher=New Holland Publishers|___location=London|author=[[Mark O'Shea (herpetologist)|O’Shea M]]|isbn=978-1-84537-544-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VDIbbpl_ktgC}}{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name=Collins>{{cite book|title=Collins Guide to African Wildlife|isbn=000220066X|year=1996|publisher=HarperCollins Publishers|___location=London|vauthors=Alden PC, Estes RD, Schlitter D, McBridge B }}</ref> and one of the world's largest,<ref name="Meh87"/> the
[[File:Brehm VII 331 - Python sebae.png|thumb|right|Illustration by Brehms Thierleben]]
The snake varies considerably in body size between different areas. In general, it is smaller in highly populated regions, such as in southern [[Nigeria]], only reaching its maximum length in areas such as [[Sierra Leone]], where the human population density is lower. [[Sexual dimorphism|Males are typically smaller than females]].<ref name="Starin">{{cite journal |vauthors=Starin ED, Burghardt GM | title = African rock pythons (Python sebae) in the Gambia: observations on natural history and interactions with humans | journal = The Snake | pages = 50–62 | volume = 24 | year = 1992}}</ref>
The Central African rock python's body is thick and covered with colored blotches, often joining up in a broad, irregular stripe. Body markings vary between brown, olive, chestnut, and yellow, but fade to white on the underside.<ref name=Barron>{{cite book|title=Pythons|year=2009|isbn=978-0-7641-4244-4|url=https://archive.org/details/pythonseverythin0000bart|url-access=registration|publisher=Barron’s Educational Series|___location=New York|vauthors=Bartlett PP, Wagner E }}</ref><ref name=Collins /> The head is triangular and is marked on top with a dark brown “spear-head” outlined in buffy yellow. Teeth are many, sharp, and backwardly curved.<ref name=Schmidt>{{cite book|title=Reptiles and Amphibians of Southern Africa|isbn=1-77007-342-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D-T7qkR5K7QC|year=2006|publisher=Struik|___location=Cape Town, South Africa|author=Schmidt W}}{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name=Collins /> Under the eye, there is a distinctive triangular marking, the [[Ocular scales|subocular mark]].<ref name=Barron /> Like all pythons, the [[Scale (anatomy)|scales]] of the African rock python are small and smooth.<ref name=Collins /><ref name=Branch>{{cite book|title=Field Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hs9EzcxkCE4C|isbn=1868720403|year=1998|publisher=Struik|___location=Cape Town, South Africa|author=[[:fr:William Roy Branch|Branch, Bill]]}}{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Those around the lips possess [[Infrared sensing in snakes|heat-sensitive pits]], which are used to detect warm-blooded prey, even in the dark.<ref name=Schmidt /><ref name=Branch /><ref name=Oxford>{{cite book|title=The New Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians|isbn=0-19-852507-9|year=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press|___location=Oxford|vauthors=Halliday T, Adler K }}</ref> Pythons also possess two functioning lungs, unlike more advanced snakes, which have only one, and also have small, visible [[pelvic spur]]s, believed to be the vestiges of hind limbs.<ref name=Branch /><ref name=Oxford />
{{multiple image
| image1 = Python natalensis-Head.jpg
|
|
|
▲| align = center
| width2 = 175px
| caption2 =
| footer = Cephalic features of the Southern African rock python (''Python natalensis'', left) and the Central African rock python (''Python sebae'', on the right).
}}
The Southern African rock python and the Central African rock python differ in the following ways:
*The southern has a colouration that is similar to its northern relative, however it is described as being more "drabber".<ref name=RDB2>{{Cite web|url= https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Python&species=natalensis|title=Python natalensis|website=Reptile-database.reptarium.cz|access-date=5 June 2022}}</ref>
*''P. sebae'' has two prominent light lines from the nose, over the eye to the back of the head, which are much duller in ''P. natalensis''.<ref name=RDB2/><ref name="b123">{{cite web|url=https://www.africansnakebiteinstitute.com/articles/snake-comparison-african-rock-python-vs-southern-african-python/|title=Snake Comparison – African Rock Python vs Southern African Python|date=25 June 2019 }}</ref>
*The northern species has considerably larger head scales.<ref name=RDB2/>
*Also, ''P. natalensis'' is typically smaller in size relative to ''P. sebae''.<ref name="b123" /> ''P. natalensis'' reaches an average length of between 2.8 and 4 metres<ref name="Spawls">p. Spawls, K Howell, R Drewes, J Ashe: ''A Field Guide to the Reptiles of East Africa''. Academic Press, London 2002, {{ISBN|0-12-656470-1}}, pp. 305–310.</ref> (max.size measured 5.8 meters.<ref name="Branch2">W. R. Branch, W. D. Haacke: ''A Fatal Attack on a Young Boy by an African Rock Python Python sebae''. Journal of Herpetology Vol.14, No.3, 1980, pp. 305–307.</ref>) and, while ''P. sebae'' with an average length between 2.7 and 4.6 meters long<ref name="Pitman">C.R.S. Pitman: ''A guide to the snakes of Uganda''. Codicote Wheldon & Wesley, Ltd, 1974, {{ISBN|0-85486-020-7}}, pp. 67–71.</ref> (max.size measured 6.5 meters.<ref name="Branch2"/>).
*In ''P. natalensis'', the dark patch in front of and posterior to the eye is paler and narrower than in ''P. sebae'', giving the appearance of a dark stripe as opposed to a yellow stripe at the level of the eye.<ref name=RDB2/>
==Distribution and habitat==
[[File:Praeneste - Nile Mosaic - Section 1a - Detail.jpg|thumb|upright|right|alt=mosaic coiled snake in yellowish coloring|A Roman mosaic shows
The Central African rock python is found throughout almost the whole of sub-Saharan Africa,<ref name=ark9>{{cite journal|author1=[[:fr:William Roy Branch|Branch WR]], Hacke WD |year=1980|jstor=1563557|title= A fatal attack on a young boy by an African rock python Python sebae|journal= Journal of Herpetology|volume= 14|issue=3|pages=305–307|doi=10.2307/1563557}}</ref> from [[Senegal]] east to [[Ethiopia]] and [[Somalia]] and south to [[Namibia]] and South Africa.<ref name=CITES>{{cite web|title=CITES|url=http://www.cites.org/|publisher=CITES}}</ref><ref name=Collins /> ''
In 2009,
The Central African rock python inhabits a wide range of habitats, including forest, savanna, grassland, semidesert, and rocky areas. It is particularly associated with areas of permanent water,<ref name=Barron /><ref>Luiselli L, Akani GC, Eniang EA, Politano E (2007). "Comparative ecology and ecological modeling of sympatric pythons, ''Python regius'' and ''Python sebae''. '''In:''' Henderson RW, Powell R (Editors) (2007). ''Biology of the Boas and Pythons''. Eagle Mountain, Utah: EMP Press. {{ISBN|0972015434}}.</ref> and is found on the edges of swamps, lakes, and rivers.<ref name=Holland /><ref name=Collins /> The snake also readily adapts to disturbed habitats, so is often found around human habitation,<ref name=ark9/> especially cane fields.<ref name="Meh87"/>
{{Gallery
| title = Rock python habitats
▲| lines = 2
| width = 240
| height = 180
| align = center
|File:DjoudjPython.JPG|alt1=snake in grass|Central African
|File:African Rock Python
|File:Python
}}
==Ecology and biology==
===Feeding===
Like all pythons, the Central African rock python is non-venomous and kills by constriction.<ref name=Schmidt /><ref name=Oxford /> After gripping the prey, the snake coils around it, tightening its coils every time the victim breathes out. Death is thought to be caused by cardiac arrest rather than by asphyxiation or crushing.<ref name=Schmidt /> The African rock python feeds on a variety of large rodents, monkeys, warthogs, antelopes, vultures, fruit bats, monitor lizards, crocodiles, and more in forest areas,<ref name=Collins /> and on rats, poultry, dogs, and goats in suburban areas. It will sometimes take fish as well.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Python_sebae/|title = Python sebae (African Rock Python)| website=[[Animal Diversity Web]] }}</ref> Occasionally, it may eat the cubs of big cats such as leopards, lions, and cheetahs, cubs of hyenas, and puppies of wild dogs such as jackals and Cape hunting dogs.{{Citation needed|date=August 2015}}. However, these encounters are very rare, as the adult cats can easily kill pythons or fend them off.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sandeep|first=Sharma|year=2004|title=An observation on suspected death of Indian Rock Python (Python molurus molurus) because of Jungle Cat (Felis chaus)|url=http://www.zoosprint.org/ZoosPrintNewsLetter/RepRap6%20Sep04.pdf|journal=South Asian Reptile Network Newsletter|volume=6|pages=1|access-date=2017-01-12|archive-date=2016-04-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401231545/http://zoosprint.org/ZoosPrintNewsLetter/RepRap6%20Sep04.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=ark11>{{cite journal|vauthors=Luiselli L, Angelici FM, Akani GC |year=2001|title=Food habits of ''Python sebae'' in suburban and natural habitats|journal=African Journal of Ecology|volume=39|issue=1 |pages=116–118|doi=10.1111/j.1365-2028.2001.00269.x|bibcode=2001AfJEc..39..116L }}</ref> On March 1, 2017, a 3.9-m (12-ft
▲|File:Python natalensis constricts a goat, Zimbabwe2.jpg|Constricting a pregnant goat
===Reproduction===
Reproduction occurs in the spring.<ref name="Meh87"/> Central African rock pythons are [[Oviparity|oviparious]], laying between 20 and 100 hard-shelled, elongated eggs in an old animal burrow, termite mound, or cave.<ref name=Holland /><ref name=Collins /> The female shows a surprising level of maternal care, coiling around the eggs, protecting them from predators, and possibly helping to incubate them, until they hatch around 90 days later.<ref name=Holland /><ref name=Schmidt /><ref name=Collins /> The female guards the hatchlings for up to two weeks after they hatch from their eggs to protect them from predators in a manner unusual for snakes in general and pythons in particular.<ref name="Alexander">{{cite book | last = Alexander| first = Graham |author2=Johan Marais | title = A Guide to the Reptiles of Southern Africa| publisher = Struik Publishers | year = 2008| isbn = 978-1-77007-386-9 }}</ref>
Hatchlings are between {{
▲|File:Hatchling Python sebae Tropicario, FIN 1.jpg|alt2=snake emerging from egg|{{center|Hatching}}
==Human interaction==
===Attacks===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 105-DOA0917, Deutsch-Ostafrika, Riesenschlange2.jpg|thumb|right|300px|alt=black and white photo, showing three African men dressed in loincloths holding an outstretched snake|Early 1900s,
Documented attacks on humans are exceptionally rare, despite the species being common in many regions of Africa, and living in diverse habitats including those with agricultural activity.<ref name=ark9/> Few deaths are well-substantiated, with no reports of a human being consumed.<ref name=ark9/> Large specimens (which are more common in Western Africa) "would have no difficulty in eating adult humans
==== Well-substantiated attacks ====
* A scholarly article published in 1980 said no prior well-substantiated fatalities were reported of humans killed by Central African rock pythons, and the only prior such attack by any type of python or boa was by a reticulated python in 1927.<ref name=ark9/>
* In 1979 in [[Waterberg District Municipality|Waterberg District]], Limpopo Province (then Northern Transvaal), South Africa, a {{convert|4.5
* In 1999 in [[Centralia, Illinois]], a 3-year-old boy was suffocated during the night by an escaped {{convert|7.5|ft|adj=on|abbr=on|order=flip}} pet African rock python.<ref name=chitrib>{{cite news| work=Chicago Tribune | title=Centralia family's python suffocates 3-year-old boy | date=30 August 1999 | url=
* In 2013 in [[Campbellton, New Brunswick|Campbellton]], New Brunswick, Canada, two brothers aged four and six were reportedly killed by a {{convert|14|to|16|ft|adj=on|abbr=on|order=flip}}, {{convert|45|kg|adj=on|abbr=on}} Central African rock python kept by a pet shop owner.<ref name=cbc01>{{cite news| title=Reports into boys' python deaths still under wraps | work=CBC News | publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] | date=12 September 2013 | url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/reports-into-boys-python-deaths-still-under-wraps-1.1706099| access-date=31 March 2018}}</ref><ref name=boesveld/> The circumstances of the incident prompted some skepticism from experts not involved in the case
*In 2017,
==== Other reported attacks ====
* In 2002 near [[Durban]], South Africa, a 10-year-old boy was reportedly swallowed by
* In 2009 in Sabaki Village, [[Malindi District]], Kenya, a male farm manager was reportedly attacked after stepping on a {{cvt|13|ft|m|adj=on}} python, the exact species of which was not determined. After an hour's struggle, he was reportedly dragged up a tree, but then rescued by police and villagers after he was able to call for help on his mobile phone.<ref name=nyassy/><ref name="BBC">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7999909.stm |title=Man bites snake in epic struggle |work=[[BBC News]] |date=15 April 2009 |access-date=15 April 2009}}</ref> The snake was reportedly captured by police, but had escaped and disappeared by the next day.<ref name=nyassy>{{ cite news|title=Man bites snake in hour-long battle to survive |date=14 April 2009 |last=Nyassy |first=Daniel |url=http://www.nation.co.ke/news/-/1056/560504/-/4wvt75z/-/index.html |work=Daily Nation |publisher=Nation Media Group |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224100904/http://www.nation.co.ke/news/-/1056/560504/-/4wvt75z/-/index.html |archive-date=24 December 2013 }}</ref> The man said he bit the snake's tail while he was being attacked and was injured on his lower lip because the tip of the tail was sharp.<ref name=nyassy/>
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===Conservation===
People are often fearful of large pythons and may kill them on sight.<ref name=Holland /><ref name=ark9/> The Central African rock python
Some of the Central African rock python's habitats are also known to be under threat. For example, mangrove and rainforest habitats and their snake communities are under serious threat in southeastern Nigeria from habitat destruction and exploration for the oil industry.<ref name=ark14/><ref name=ark15>{{cite journal|vauthors=Akani GC, Barieenee IF, Capizzi D, Luiselli L |s2cid=24757927|year=1999|title=Snake communities of moist rainforest and derived savanna sites of Nigeria: biodiversity patterns and conservation priorities|journal= Biodiversity and Conservation|volume= 8|pages=629–642|doi=10.1023/A:1008849702810|issue=5}}</ref>
[[File:
The Central African rock python is still relatively common in many regions across Africa, and may adapt to disturbed habitats,<ref name=ark9/> provided that food is available.
{{Clear}}
In the Florida Everglades, where the Central African rock python is an invasive species and posing a threat to indigenous wildlife, it has no protected status and is one of the species listed on a hunting program recently authorized by state officials to eradicate non-native reptiles, the others being the [[Burmese python]], [[reticulated python]], [[green anaconda]], and [[Nile monitor]].<ref name="UFL-IFAS-wildlife">{{cite web | title=Invader Updater - Legislation | website=Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation | publisher=[[Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences]] (IFAS), UF |date=2010-06-03 | url=http://ufwildlife.ifas.ufl.edu/invaderupdater/legislation.shtml | access-date=2022-01-28}}</ref>
=== In culture ===
[[Luo people of Kenya and Tanzania|Luo people]] of [[Kenya]] living mainly in the area near [[Lake Victoria]] generally consider snakes to be evil and believe that [[wikt:jajuok|sorcerers]] make them harm people.<ref name="jhs2006">{{Cite journal|last=Smith|first=James H.|year=2006|jstor=24047925|title=Snake-driven development: Culture, nature and religious conflict in neoliberal Kenya|journal=Ethnography|volume=7|number=4|pages=423–59|doi=10.1177/1466138106073144|s2cid=220725054}}</ref>
In some parts of eastern Nigeria, particularly in the towns of Idemili in Anambra, the python is revered as a sacred symbol of the deity Eke Idemili. Similarly, in [[Njaba]], the Eke Njaba, a harmless snake regarded as the deity's property, is also held in high esteem. This reverence is so deeply ingrained culturally that even [[Christians]] in these areas have not fully renounced the sacredness of the snake, and any harm to the Eke Njaba requires ritual cleansing or even a proper burial when killed, to avoid the deity's wrath.{{cn|date=September 2024}}
==References==
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==Further reading==
*[[George Albert Boulenger|Boulenger GA]] (1893). ''Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families ... Boidæ ...'' London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I-XXVIII. (''Python sebae'', pp. 86–87).
*[[Johann Friedrich Gmelin|Gmelin JF]] (
==External links==
{{Commons}}
{{Wikispecies|Python sebae}}
* {{ARKive}}
* {{NRDB species|genus=Python|species=sebae|date=12 September|year=2007}}
{{Pythonidae}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q764797}}
▲[[Category:Python (genus)|African rock python]]
[[Category:Snakes of Africa]]
[[Category:Fauna of Sub-Saharan Africa]]
[[Category:Reptiles described in
[[Category:Taxa named by Johann Friedrich Gmelin
[[Category:Reptiles as pets]]
[[Category:Apex predators]]
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