Snakes of Southeast Asia : Indian Python (original) (raw)

A huge Indian Python found in a forested area of Assam, northeast India.

Family : PYTHONIDAE
Species : Python molurus molurus
Maximum Size : 6 metres

References : H3

Photo thanks to : Tim Green

A large snake, generally reaching up to 6 metres and in extreme cases over 9 metres, the Indian Python P. m. molurus inhabits lowland forests. It is adept at both swimming and climbing trees. As with other pythons, it kills its prey - mainly small mammals- by constriction and suffocation.

The patterning comprises black-edged brown patches on a pale orange-brown to yellow-brown background. On top of the head is a distinctive lighter, forward-pointing, V-shaped marking.

The Indian Python occurs in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. A related subspecies, the Burmese Python P. m. bivittatus, occurs in Burma, South China, Thailand and Indo-china with a separate distribution in parts of Indonesia.