clipped from en.wikipedia.orgPython is the common name for a group of non-venomous constricting snakes, specifically the family Pythonidae. Other sources consider this group a subfamily of the Boas (Pythoninae). Pythons are more related to boas than to any other snake-family. There is also a genus within Pythonidae which carries the name Python (Daudin, 1803). Pythons are distinguishable from boas in that they have teeth on the premaxilla, a small bone at the very front and center of the upper jaw. Most boas produce live young, while pythons produce eggs. Some species of sandboas (Ericinae) are also called python.
Pythons range in size from 1 to 6 meters (3 to 20 feet) in length. Some pythons are among the longest species of snakes in the world; the Reticulated Python holds the record for longest snake, at 10.32 m (32 ft 9.5 in).[1] However the largest snakes that ever lived are the Paleocene Giganthopis garstini and Madtsoia. Both of these gargantuan snakes could grow to be at least 50 feet long.
Some species exhibit vestigial bones of the pelvis and rear legs, which are externally apparent in the form of a pair of anal spurs on each side of the cloaca. These spurs are larger in males than females, and are used by the male to grip and/or stimulate the female during copulation. Male pythons of certain sepcies sometimes cause spur related injuries to each other during territorial combat, and though more likely to be incidental than intentional, some captured specimens have shown multiple episodes of scarring from such injuries.
Some pythons display vivid colours and patterns on their scales while others are a nondescript brown or olive. They usually reflect appropriate camouflage for their native habitat. Even within a given species, they may be enormous differences in colouration and pattern between specimens from different parts of their range.
There are periodic reports about record breaking snakes of phenomenal proportions similar to that of a reticulated python found on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia in 2003, and now on display in a Javan village[2] [3]. As with most such claims, this one has subsequently been debunked[4]. The motivation for such grossly exaggerated claims appears to be mainly economic gain, as, particularly when captured alive, such animals tend to become income producing tourist attractions for their keepers.
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