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The Reticulated Python. survivor Cretaceous
--- English --- The name python comes from a mythical giant serpent in Greek mythology. Pythons are primitive snakes that, like their close relatives the boas, still show signs of lizard ancestry. Pythons have traces of a pelvis and two tiny spurlike hind limbs, usually better developed in the male. They also have two functioning lungs, one large and one small—more advanced snakes have only a single lung. Pythons range from about 1 to 10 m (about 3 to 33 ft) long and can weigh up to 140 kg (about 300 lb). Female pythons tend to be larger than males. . Their jaws can have up to 200 backward curving teeth, designed to grip prey and prevent it from pulling away. The reticulated python of Southeast Asia is among the largest snakes, reaching a length of 10 m (33 ft). Pythons mainly ambush prey, using their forked tongues to detect odors. The tongue flicks in and out to collect airborne chemicals and passes over a special smelling organ, called Jacobson's organ, in the roof of the mouth. Like most snakes, pythons have relatively poor eyesight and limited hearing. Pythons kill by constriction, using a powerful muscular body to squeeze a victim to death. It was once thought that pythons and other constricting snakes primarily killed by suffocating prey, gradually tightening their grip to prevent an animal from breathing. Recent research, however, shows that the enormous pressure created by the coils of such snakes can also stop circulation and even stop the heart, quickly cutting off the blood supply to the victim's brain. In addition, the force of the coils can snap an animal's neck or spine. Constriction may also break other bones, making the prey easier to swallow. The python's powerful digestive juices can break down bones, horns, and teeth as well as hide and flesh. It may take a python days or even weeks to completely digest a large meal, leaving the snake potentially vulnerable because of the bulky bulge in its body. The snake may not need to eat again for months. Pythons can temporarily increase the size of their hearts to improve the blood supply needed in digestion. In addition to hunting small-to-medium-sized plant-eating mammals such as antelope, goats, deer, or wallabies, giant pythons will sometimes attack and try to eat other predators. Documented victims include crocodiles, leopards, sun bears, and even young tigers. There are also authenticated cases of pythons attacking and sometimes killing humans. However, humans are apparently difficult for pythons to swallow headfirst because of the width of the shoulders. Nonetheless, pythons have reportedly swallowed human victims on occasion. Adult giant pythons have few natural enemies on land other than humans. Modern humans have lived alongside pythons for thousands of years. The giant species have been treated with both reverence and fear. Pythons have been widely associated with fertility, water, and the Earth. Some African tribes have worshiped pythons as protective spirits. In Hinduism, the demon Agha took the form of a python to attack the god Vishnu. The World Conservation Union (also known as IUCN) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) list all species of pythons as vulnerable and one subspecies of the Indian python as endangered. Python skins are exported from parts of Asia and Africa, mainly from animals killed in the wild. Pythons are also eaten as food in some areas. Some local populations routinely kill wild pythons out of fear. The reticulated python is classified as Python reticulatus. Links: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Python_reticulatus http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/53/53rbz165-168.pdf http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2006/07/06/how-frank-buck-filmed-his-tiger-python-battle/
--- English --- The name python comes from a mythical giant serpent in Greek mythology. Pythons are primitive snakes that, like their close relatives the boas, still show signs of lizard ancestry. Pythons have traces of a pelvis and two tiny spurlike hind limbs, usually better developed in the male. They also have two functioning lungs, one large and one small—more advanced snakes have only a single lung. Pythons range from about 1 to 10 m (about 3 to 33 ft) long and can weigh up to 140 kg (about 300 lb). Female pythons tend to be larger than males. . Their jaws can have up to 200 backward curving teeth, designed to grip prey and prevent it from pulling away. The reticulated python of Southeast Asia is among the largest snakes, reaching a length of 10 m (33 ft). Pythons mainly ambush prey, using their forked tongues to detect odors. The tongue flicks in and out to collect airborne chemicals and passes over a special smelling organ, called Jacobson's organ, in the roof of the mouth. Like most snakes, pythons have relatively poor eyesight and limited hearing. Pythons kill by constriction, using a powerful muscular body to squeeze a victim to death. It was once thought that pythons and other constricting snakes primarily killed by suffocating prey, gradually tightening their grip to prevent an animal from breathing. Recent research, however, shows that the enormous pressure created by the coils of such snakes can also stop circulation and even stop the heart, quickly cutting off the blood supply to the victim's brain. In addition, the force of the coils can snap an animal's neck or spine. Constriction may also break other bones, making the prey easier to swallow. The python's powerful digestive juices can break down bones, horns, and teeth as well as hide and flesh. It may take a python days or even weeks to completely digest a large meal, leaving the snake potentially vulnerable because of the bulky bulge in its body. The snake may not need to eat again for months. Pythons can temporarily increase the size of their hearts to improve the blood supply needed in digestion. In addition to hunting small-to-medium-sized plant-eating mammals such as antelope, goats, deer, or wallabies, giant pythons will sometimes attack and try to eat other predators. Documented victims include crocodiles, leopards, sun bears, and even young tigers. There are also authenticated cases of pythons attacking and sometimes killing humans. However, humans are apparently difficult for pythons to swallow headfirst because of the width of the shoulders. Nonetheless, pythons have reportedly swallowed human victims on occasion. Adult giant pythons have few natural enemies on land other than humans. Modern humans have lived alongside pythons for thousands of years. The giant species have been treated with both reverence and fear. Pythons have been widely associated with fertility, water, and the Earth. Some African tribes have worshiped pythons as protective spirits. In Hinduism, the demon Agha took the form of a python to attack the god Vishnu. The World Conservation Union (also known as IUCN) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) list all species of pythons as vulnerable and one subspecies of the Indian python as endangered. Python skins are exported from parts of Asia and Africa, mainly from animals killed in the wild. Pythons are also eaten as food in some areas. Some local populations routinely kill wild pythons out of fear. The reticulated python is classified as Python reticulatus. Links: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Python_reticulatus http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/53/53rbz165-168.pdf http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2006/07/06/how-frank-buck-filmed-his-tiger-python-battle/
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