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Like all snakes, chemoreception is important for finding prey, and generally perceiving the environment. Python molurus also has heat sensing pits on its head that allow it to detect endothermic prey that are warmer than the surrounding environment. It has poor eyesight.
Perception Channels: visual ; infrared/heat ; tactile ; chemical
Python molurus is listed by IUCN as lower risk, near threatened. Since June 14, 1976, P. molurus has been listed by the U.S. ESA as endangered throughout its range. The subspecies P. molurus molurus is listed as endangered in Appendix I of CITES. Other P. molurus subspecies are listed in Appendix II, as are all other species of Pythonidae.
US Federal List: endangered
CITES: appendix i; appendix ii
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: lower risk - near threatened
Young Python molurus are precocial when they hatch. They become independent soon after hatching. They become sexually mature between 2-3 years of age provided the proper body weight is met.
No negative impact is known.
There is a high amount of exportation for the pet trade. The skin of Indian pythons is highly valued in the fashion industry due to its exotic look. In its native range it is also hunted as a source of food.
Positive Impacts: pet trade ; body parts are source of valuable material
Python molurus eats many rodents as well as a variety of vertebrates. It may be important in limiting populations of its prey.
Python molurus is carnivorous. Its diet consists mostly of live prey. Its staples are rodents and other mammals. A small portion of its diet consists of birds, amphibians, and reptiles. When looking for food P. molurus will either stalk prey, ambush, or scavenge for carrion. These snakes have very poor eyesight. To compensate for this, the species has a highly developed sense of smell, and heat pits within each scale along the upper lip, which sense the warmth of nearby prey. Indian pythons kill prey by biting and constricting until the prey suffocates. Prey items are then swallowed whole. To accomplish the feat of swallowing the prey, P. molurus molurus dislocates its jaw and stretches its highly elastic skin around the prey. This allows these snakes to swallow food items many times larger than thier own heads. In cases of scavenging there is no constriction of the prey (Murphy and Henderson 1997, Woodland Park Zoo 2000).
Animal Foods: birds; mammals; amphibians; reptiles; carrion
Primary Diet: carnivore (Eats terrestrial vertebrates)
Python molurus ranges across the lower half of the Asian continent. The species' western limit is thought to be the Indus Valley. It may range as far north as Quingchuan County of Sichuan Province, China, and as far south as Borneo. Indian pythons seem to be absent from the Malayan Peninsula. It has yet to be determined whether the populations scattered throughout several of the smaller islands are native or feral (escaped pets) populations. There are two recognized subspecies of P. molurus which are separated by geographic range and certain physical characteristics. P. molurus molurus is native to India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. The larger of the two, P. molurus bivitatus (the Burmese python), is typically thought to range from Myanmar eastward across southern Asia through China and Indonesia. It is not present on the island of Sumatra. Introduced individuals have been sighted in the Florida Everglades.
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Introduced ); oriental (Native )
Indian pythons are found in a variety of habitats including rainforests, river valleys, woodlands, scrublands, grassy marshes, and semi rocky foothills. They are usually found in habitats with areas that can provide sufficient cover. This species is never found very far from water sources, and seems to prefer very damp terrain.
Habitat Regions: tropical
Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland ; forest ; rainforest ; scrub forest
Other Habitat Features: riparian
Average lifespan
Status: captivity: 15.8 years.
Indian pythons are divided into two recognized subspecies, which can be distinguished by physical characteristics. Burmese pythons, P. molurus bivitatus, can grow to lengths of about 7.6 m (25 ft), and can weigh as much as 137 kg (300 lbs.). Indian pythons, P. molurus molurus, stays smaller, reaching a maximum of about 6.4 m (21 ft) in length, and weighing as much as 91 kg (200 lbs.). The hides of both subspecies are marked with a rectangular mosaic type pattern that runs the full length of the animal. P. molurus bivitatus is more darkly colored, with shades of brown and dark cream rectangles that lay over a black background. This subspecies is also characterized by an arrow-shaped marking present on the top of the head, which begins the pattern. P. molurus molurus has similar markings with light brown and tan rectangles placed over a typically cream background. P. molurus molurus only has a partial arrow-shaped marking on the top of the head. Each scale of P. molurus molurus is a single color.
Indian pythons are dimorphic with females of both subspecies being longer and heavier than males. Males have larger cloacal spurs, or vestigial limbs, than do females. The cloacal spurs are two projections, one on either side of the anal vent, that are thought to be extensions of posterior limbs.
Range mass: 137 (high) kg.
Range length: 7.6 (high) m.
Other Physical Features: heterothermic
Sexual Dimorphism: female larger
Average basal metabolic rate: 1.2661 W.
Python molurus reaches sexual maturity between 2-3 years of age provided the proper body weight is met. At this time courting behavior may begin. During courtship, the male wraps his body around the female and repeatedly flicks his tongue across her head and body. Once they align their cloacas, the male uses his vestigial legs to massage the female and stimulate her. Copulation ensues, with the female raising her tail to allow the male to insert one hemipenis (he has two) into the female's cloaca. This process lasts between 5-30 minutes. Approximately 3-4 months later, the female will lay up to 100 eggs, each weighing as much as 207 g (7.3 oz). At this time the female generally coils around the eggs in preparation for an incubation period. Incubation lasts between 2-3 months.
Range number of offspring: 100 (high) .
Range gestation period: 2 to 3 months.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 2 to 3 years.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 2 to 3 years.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; sexual ; oviparous
Average number of offspring: 40.
During incubation female Python molurus use muscular contractions or "shivers" to raise their body temperatures slightly higher than the surrounding air temperature. It is very uncommon for a mother to leave the eggs during incubation. Once the eggs hatch, the young quickly become independent.
Parental Investment: pre-hatching/birth (Protecting: Female)
The Indian python (Python molurus) is a large python species native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.[3] It is also known by the common names black-tailed python,[4] Indian rock python, and Asian rock python.[5][6] Although smaller than its close relative the Burmese python, it is still among the largest snakes in the world. It is generally lighter colored than the Burmese python and reaches usually 3 m (9 ft 10 in).[7] Like all pythons, it is nonvenomous.
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.[8] All pythons are non-venomous.
The nominate subspecies occurring in India typically grows to 3 m (9 ft 10 in).[7][8] This value is supported by a 1990 study in Keoladeo National Park, where 25% of the python population was 2.7–3.3 m (8 ft 10 in – 10 ft 10 in) long. Two individuals even measured nearly 3.6 m (11 ft 10 in).[9]
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 4.6 m (15 ft 1 in) long and weighed 52 kg (114 lb 10 oz). In Pakistan, Indian pythons commonly reach a length of 2.4–3.0 m (7 ft 10 in – 9 ft 10 in).[10]
Differs from Burmese python (Python bivittatus) by the following signs:
P. molurus occurs in India, southern Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and probably in the north of Myanmar.[12] It lives in a wide range of habitats, including grasslands, swamps, marshes, rocky foothills, woodlands, open forest, and river valleys. It needs a permanent source of water.[13] It hides in abandoned mammal burrows, hollow trees, dense water reeds, and mangrove thickets.[8]
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.
Like all snakes, Indian pythons are strict carnivores and feed on mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians indiscriminately, but seem to prefer mammals.[14] 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 the jaw bones are not connected. Moreover, prey cannot escape from its mouth because of the arrangement of the teeth (which are reverse saw-like).
Oviparous, up to 100 eggs are laid by a female, which she protects and incubates.[13] Towards this end, they are capable of raising their body temperature above the ambient level through muscular contractions.[15] The hatchlings are 45–60 cm (18–24 in) in length and grow quickly.[13] An artificial incubation method using climate-controlled environmental chambers was developed in India for successfully raising hatchlings from abandoned or unattended eggs.[16]
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.[1]
A genetic study published in 2017 showed that the Burmese pythons in Florida are hybrids with P. molurus.[17]
In the literature, one other subspecies may be encountered: P. m. pimbura 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.[18] The name Python molurus bivittatus is found in older literature.
Kaa, a large and old Indian python, is featured as one of Mowgli's mentors in Rudyard Kipling's 1894 collection The Jungle Book.
The Indian python (Python molurus) is a large python species native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is also known by the common names black-tailed python, Indian rock python, and Asian rock python. Although smaller than its close relative the Burmese python, it is still among the largest snakes in the world. It is generally lighter colored than the Burmese python and reaches usually 3 m (9 ft 10 in). Like all pythons, it is nonvenomous.
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