For many centuries, snakes evoked the most conflicting feelings among people: some idolized them and considered them a symbol of wisdom, healing, renewal and resurrection. Others considered a creature that belongs to the other world and is in the service dark forces. It was fear that gave rise to many myths and legends, including about their size, strength, bloodthirstiness and gluttony. Prostozoo will tell you about which snake is the largest in the world.

There are many legends and stories about huge snakes, usually cannibals, whose length reached 30 meters, in girth they were like huge tree, and when they crawled through the forest or plantings, young trees broke. However, in fact, such giants did not exist in the entire history of the animal world. According to the latest archaeological finds, as well as research by the Smithsonian Museum and Research Center, the largest and longest snake in the world - Titanoboa - lived 60 million years ago and replaced the extinct dinosaurs. Its length was more than 15 meters and it weighed more than a ton.

Photo source: http://techno.bigmir.net

Photo source: http://techno.bigmir.net

Modern snakes are somewhat smaller compared to their ancestor, but they are often impressive in their size. The real leaders are the reticulated python, giant (green), Burmese or dark tiger python.

All three species belong to the same family - false-legged. Their main feature is the presence of rudiments of the hind limbs. Powerful muscles allow snakes to kill prey by suffocation, while the bones of the victim do not break, as previously thought. The snake could itself suffer from a broken prey bone, so it only squeezes harder when the animal exhales, in which case inhalation is almost impossible. The coloration of snakes of this family is the most diverse, but even if it is motley, it still allows the snake to merge with environment on the ground.

reticulated python

The python got its name due to its pattern, which resembles a fishing net thrown over snake skin.

Photo source: http://ianimal.ru

This is the main contender for the title of the largest snake of our time - according to official data, the record length is 12 m 20 cm. On average, the length of the reticulated python rarely exceeds 8-9 m. main reason its impressive size - favorable conditions for growth - temperature, humidity, dense greenery of trees, great amount variety of food: birds, mammals, eggs, fish and even crocodiles.

Photo source: http://ianimal.ru

The main habitat of reticulated pythons is Southeast Asia: South Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, the islands of Indonesia and the Lesser Sunda Islands.

Photo source: http://ianimal.ru

You can meet them both among the branches of trees in tropical forests and light forests, where they sleep or wait for prey over the animal path, and on the slopes of mountains and glades, because they mainly lead a terrestrial lifestyle. Asian reticulated pythons are excellent swimmers, so they can often be seen near water bodies and even in the open sea, where they hunt fish or wait for prey near a watering hole.

Photo source: http://ianimal.ru

Photo source: http://ianimal.ru

Photo source: http://ianimal.ru

Pythons are frequent guests in the settlements local residents, because there is a lot of food for which you almost do not need to hunt - livestock, rodents.

Photo source: http://ianimal.ru

Reticulated pythons are not afraid of humans, however, they are not in a hurry to attack - only two cases of cannibalism are known, when a 13-year-old boy and an adult male, the expedition guide, died.

giant anaconda

For the first time about giant anaconda, also known as a water boa, was told in his book "Chronicles of Peru" by Pedro de Ciesa de Leon in 1553.

Anaconda is a serious competitor to the reticulated python, the length of big representative of this subfamily is 11.43 m. However, even with a shorter length, the anaconda significantly exceeds its rival in weight.

Photo source: http://ianimal.ru

There are practically no fundamental differences between the anaconda and the reticulated python.

Naturally, the “water boa” spends most of its life in the water, crawling out only occasionally on land to bask in the sun. It lives in the lowlands of the Amazon and Orinoco rivers, mainly in stagnant water, oxbow lakes and lakes. If suddenly her reservoir dries up, then she either goes downstream in search of a new shelter, or digs deep into the silt and flows into deep dream until the water returns with the onset of the rainy season. It can often be found in Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, northern Bolivia, northeastern Peru and even on the island of Trinidad.

Photo source: http://upload.wikimedia.org

Contrary to legend, anacondas are not poisonous, the snake strangles its prey and drags it under water. An adult individual has practically no enemies, there is even a case when an anaconda ate a young 3-meter python, but young snakes can get on the tooth of a crocodile or other predator.

Despite the reputation that myths and legends, as well as cinema, have created for the anaconda, this snake not only does not attack people, but even tries to hide away, catching a human scent. Unfortunately, due to the peculiarities and inaccessibility of habitats, representatives of this subfamily of pseudopods have been little studied by scientists.

Dark brindle(Burmese) python

The dark tiger python is the third largest snake on the planet, the longest representative was more than 9 m in length and weighed almost 100 kg.

Photo source: http://globuslife.ru

These snakes usually lead a terrestrial lifestyle due to their considerable mass with a relatively small length, although they swim and dive perfectly, and young pythons climb trees remarkably.

Pythons live in tropical forests, swamps, river valleys of Myanmar, East India, Nepal, Cambodia, southern China, as well as on the islands of Hainan, Java, Sulawesi and some islands of Indonesia. Like all other large snakes, Burmese pythons are predators, but they are one of the few who can afford to hunt jaguars and jackals, which can offer serious resistance even to an anaconda.

Photo source: http://animal.discovery.com

In the 20th century, dark tiger pythons were very popular in the United States as a pet, but pets grew up, and few owners could keep an 8-meter snake. They were released outside settlements, and a few years later, Burmese pythons became part of the fauna of the Everglades National Park in Florida, where such pets turned out to be the most. Today, the pythons are fighting a deadly war for survival with the alligators living in the park, but the herbivores that are hunted by both sworn enemies are the first to suffer from this. Thus, due to human shortsightedness, some animals living in the park were on the verge of extinction.

Photo source: http://upload.wikimedia.org

snakes and people

IN Lately keeping exotic animals at home has become very popular. Quite often in the homes of wealthy people you can see a terrarium where a huge reticulated or tiger python lives. As a rule, snakes behave calmly, without showing aggression towards their owners, but you should never forget that this is still a wild animal, and therefore safety rules must be strictly observed. For example, remember that you can touch a snake only after you thoroughly wash your hands, otherwise, smelling the smell of food, the python will rush to your hand.

Photo source: http://ianimal.ru

Despite their awesome size and strength, both anaconda and pythons most often become human prey themselves - in their habitats, snake meat is considered by local tribes almost everyday dish. The islanders sincerely believe that by eating the meat of this huge snake, they receive not only a particle of its strength, but also some ancient wisdom, and most importantly, protection from its relatives. However, if the natives kill snakes exclusively for food, then the "civilized" snake catchers do this, first of all, for the sake of snake skins, which are widely used in haberdashery. Today, many countries have already introduced restrictions on the number of exported snake skins.

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Which is considered one of the largest in the world. In 2005, the reptile of this species was recognized as the heaviest in the world. With a length of 8.2 m, it weighed 183 kg.

Appearance

Your name this species reptiles received due to the color, reminiscent of the color of the tiger. The length of the tiger python reaches 8 m, and sometimes more. The body of this snake is olive or yellowish brown in color, on which large dark brown spots are scattered. On the head of the tiger python, you can see a dark arrow-shaped spot. Among them, there are albinos - individuals that do not have protective pigmentation. In nature, the albino tiger python is very rare, since the absence protective coloring dooms him to death early childhood. However, because of the extraordinarily beautiful appearance, such individuals are very popular among snake lovers. Therefore, they began to artificially withdraw.

Habitat

The tiger python lives in the vast Southeast and in particular, it is distributed in countries such as Pakistan, China, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Nepal. As a rule, representatives of this species can be found in swamps, sparse forests, as well as on rocky foothills and fields.

Lifestyle

The tiger python is a sedentary reptile that prefers to hunt at night. Said snake attacks prey from an ambush, then bites it and suffocates it with its body. The food for tiger pythons is rodents, various birds, monkeys and small ungulates. There are even cases when individuals of this species attacked jackals, leopards, wild boar and crocodiles. Most often, tiger pythons can be found near water bodies, because they feel good in the water. They can swim and dive. Also, these snakes can climb trees. Their life expectancy is 20-25 years.

In nature, there are 3 subspecies of tiger pythons:

  • Indian python.
  • Burmese python.
  • Ceylon tiger python.

The largest of these is the Burmese, or dark tiger python. Its length varies between 6 and 8 meters (maximum 9.15 m) and its weight is about 70 kg. In addition, it has the darkest color, which is clearly visible in the photo of the python. At the same time, it has many color variations. This subspecies is often kept in terrariums.

Less large is the Indian, which is also called the light tiger python. Its length is 6 m. It has a lighter color. This subspecies is included in the Red Book. Due to hunting, its population is constantly decreasing. The skin of these snakes is used to make wallets, boots, belts, etc. The Ceylon subspecies is considered the smallest among tiger pythons. Its length rarely exceeds 3 m. Outwardly, it strongly resembles an Indian python. Ceylon can be distinguished by the reddish color of the head.

If you're a Python writer, you've probably seen method definitions wrapped in double underscores in the standard libraries. These "magic" methods form many of the useful interfaces you use all the time, such as when getting a value by element number or printing something out. These methods can and should be used in your programs. How - I'll show you now.

In general, any well-designed language defines a set of conventions and implements them in its standard library. Agreements may concern both purely external signs, like the syntax of names (CamelCase , snake_case ), and the behavior of objects. The Python language is very consistent in this sense.

The syntax in Python is not extensible, but the interfaces between objects are well defined and accessible to any developer. Unlike Java, Python does not have a formal concept of class interfaces, any class can provide any interface, it is enough to define methods with the necessary names and arguments and make sure that their behavior is as expected.

Interfaces in Python

Since Python is dynamically typed, it is not possible to check the conformity of an object's class at compile time. The features for specifying type annotations from Python 3.5 are primarily for external static analyzers and are not used at runtime. Explicitly checking a class with type() is considered bad form.

IN last resort you can use isinstance() - unlike type(), this function returns True not only for the class itself, but also for all its descendants. Type() validation will break on inheritance, which is why people hate it so much.

Object interfaces are defined by so-called magic methods. By convention, their names are surrounded by double underscores. The __init__() method, which serves as a class constructor, is an example that everyone knows. Almost every standard operation, including formatted output and arithmetic, is implemented in some magical way.

To demonstrate, we will write a primitive and slow implementation of an associative array based on a list of tuples, "identical to natural" in the sense of the interface.

Making our own associative array

The implementation will be very simple - a linked list of key-value pairs. For example, the equivalent of an associative array (1: 2, 3: 4) would be [(1, 2), (3, 4)] . It is significantly slower than the built-in one: for example, looking up the value of an element by a key will require O(n) operations, while the built-in one requires O(1). For a demonstration, however, it will do.

We'll call our class Assoc . Let's define the class and its constructor:

Class Assoc(object): def __init__(self, contents=): self._contents = contents

For the convenience of testing, we have made initial value could have been passed in the constructor, like Assoc([(1,2), (3,4)]) .

Adding string representations

Python has two different methods for getting the string representation of objects: __repr__ and __str__ . The difference between the two is quite subtle, but significant: __repr__ , by design, should produce a valid Python expression with which to create the same object. This is not always possible, so in practice for many objects it returns just something that allows the developer to identify the object, like . It is he who is called if you enter the name of the variable in the interactive interpreter.

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It turns out that the cat is not the best hunter for domestic rodents. You need to feed her every day, and there is a lot of wool from her. Whether it's a dark tiger python (lat. Python bivittatus) ! It does not make noise, does not litter and feeds itself. And if there is nothing to eat - it does not matter! Starve for a week or two and then hunt.

flickr/patmanzzz-against SOPA/PIPA

At least that's what the residents think. South-East Asia who often keep these snakes as pets. The nature of the dark tiger pythons is relatively calm, so they do not cause much trouble. Although adults can also attack a person, this is rather an exception to the rule. In addition, there is another use for especially large specimens: clothes and shoes are made from their skin, and meat is eaten. All round good python!

It is found in eastern India, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia and southern China. It is not found in Borneo and Sumatra, but it is in Sulawesi, Java and some other small islands of Indonesia.

At one time, it was popular in the United States to keep pythons as pets. However, when the "favorite" reached a large size, he was released into the wild. So the dark tiger python took root in national park Everglades (Florida, USA), where he began to compete for the title of dominant predator with local alligators and destroy rare species animals and birds.

Pythons prefer tropical rainforests, rocky foothills, swamps, river valleys, and open meadow jungles. They love water, dive and swim well, so they always settle next to permanent water bodies. Young snakes enjoy climbing trees, but with age they get rid of this habit.

Pythons feed on various rodents (including porcupines), civets, waterfowl and chicken birds, monitor lizards, and pigeons. Sometimes they attack pets. Particularly large specimens from time to time feast on small deer, pigs, goats, leopards and jackals. They attack prey from ambush. They grab with their teeth and strangle with the rings of their body.

The body length of the dark tiger python can exceed eight meters, but 5-meter snakes with a weight of about 70 kg are much more common. The largest python had a body length of 9.15 m, and the heaviest weighed 183 kg with a body length of 8.2 m. It is curious that the name of the heavyweight was "Baby".

In the cold season, pythons can fall into a kind of “hibernation”: they hide in caves, burrows or empty tree trunks and starve for a long time, waiting for warmth. During this period, their reproductive organs are actively preparing for the breeding season, which begins in early spring.

From the moment of mating to the laying of eggs, it takes from 60 to 155 days. The clutch is usually 12-36 eggs - their number depends on the state of health and the capabilities of the female. The expectant mother wraps the masonry around and warms it due to muscle contractions. Young snakes hatch from eggs at 55-85 days. Interestingly, very often fully formed cubs are in no hurry to leave the cozy egg and sit inside for a few more days. They begin to eat only after the first molt.

The lifespan of dark tiger pythons in captivity is 25 years. So think before you get yourself such a kind of "rat catcher".

Abstract on the topic:



Plan:

    Introduction
  • 1 Description
    • 1.1 Appearance
    • 1.2 Spreading
    • 1.3 Lifestyle
    • 1.4 Nutrition
    • 1.5 Breeding
  • 2 Conservation status
  • 3 Significance for a person
  • 4 Content in captivity
  • 5 Invasive view
    • Notes
    Literature

Introduction

Or burmese python(lat. Python molurus bivittatus) is one of the subspecies of the tiger python.


1. Description

1.1. Appearance

The dark tiger python is the largest of the subspecies of the tiger python. It can reach a length of 8 m or more, but usually there are individuals about 5-5.5 m long and weighing about 70 kg. The record copy reached a length of 9.15 m. This subspecies also included the heaviest snake kept in captivity - a tiger python named "Baby" (Eng. Baby), who lived in the Snake Safari Park in Illinois (USA) and in 2005 weighed 183 kg with a length of 8.2 m. Females are usually larger and more massive than males.

Different from light tiger python ( Python molurus molurus) with the following features:

  • the absence of light "eyes" in the centers of the spots located on the sides of the body;
  • a well-defined diamond-shaped spot on the head;
  • usually darker in color, which is dominated by dark brown, olive-brown, brownish tones.

1.2. Spreading

The most widespread subspecies of the tiger python. Lives in Burma, East India, Nepal, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, southern China (including Hainan Island), Malaysia, Indochina. Absent in Borneo and Sumatra, but found in Java, Sulawesi and some small islands of Indonesia.

The dark tiger python was unintentionally introduced in the state of Florida (USA).


1.3. Lifestyle

Tiger pythons live in tropical rain forests, jungles with open glades, swamps, rocky foothills, river valleys. They prefer to settle near permanent water bodies. Pythons swim and dive well, they are able to stay under water for up to half an hour. Young individuals climb trees well, but adult pythons, because of their large mass prefer to lead a mostly terrestrial way of life. Sometimes pythons are found near human settlements, where they are attracted by the abundance of synanthropic rodents.

Pythons are active mainly at night.

In the northern part of its range, the dark tiger python may be dormant during several cold months of the year. At the same time, snakes are inactive, stop feeding and hide in empty tree trunks, burrows or caves. This kind of hibernation helps to prepare the reproductive organs (both males and females) for the upcoming breeding season.


1.4. Nutrition

Tiger pythons, like all snakes, are predators and feed on various mammals and birds. Various rodents (including porcupines), monkeys, civets, waterfowl and chicken birds, pigeons, sometimes - large lizards(for example, monitor lizards). They can attack pets and birds. Large individuals are capable of killing and swallowing such prey as young or small deer, goats and pigs. There are cases of attacks of large pythons on leopards and jackals.

Animals that serve them as food, pythons are found mainly by smell and by thermal radiation with the help of thermal pits located on the upper labial shields. They hunt from ambush. The prey is seized with teeth and killed by strangulation in the body rings. Pythons are capable of swallowing very big booty, but they can go hungry for a long time.


1.5. reproduction

Tiger pythons can mate in early spring (March-April). Both the male and the female have small claws on the sides of the anus - the so-called anal spurs (rudiments of the hind limbs). The male has larger anal spurs; when mating, he scratches the female with them and rubs against her body. Copulation continues for several hours. In June, 60-155 days after mating, females lay eggs. The clutch size of the tiger python is on average 12-36 eggs, but much larger clutches are also known. The number of eggs laid depends on the size and health of the female. The female stays next to the clutch for 55-85 days, curled around it. Female pythons are able to independently warm the masonry, raising the temperature inside the rings of their body by several degrees due to muscle contractions. The young hatch in August. Baby pythons often stay inside the eggs for some time. Young snakes begin to feed after the first molt.


2. Conservation status

The dark tiger python is listed in Appendix II of the Convention on international trade CITES.

3. Significance for a person

In Southeast Asia, tiger python meat is eaten by the local population. Various items of clothing and footwear are made from the skin of large pythons.

Locals often keep tiger pythons in their homes for superstitious reasons, as well as to get rid of rats and mice.

Beautiful coloration, relatively calm and non-aggressive nature made the dark tiger python one of the most popular snakes kept in captivity. They are kept in many zoos and circuses. Despite its large size, this python can often be seen in terrariums by exotic animal lovers.


4. Captivity

Dark tiger python in terrarium

For the maintenance of tiger pythons, spacious terrariums horizontal type with good ventilation. As bedding use sawdust, synthetic mats or paper. Mandatory large pool in which the python could bathe. This is especially important for the correct molting of the snake. To give animals the opportunity to climb, you can install thick and strong snags, tree branches in the terrarium, or attach shelves to the walls of the terrarium. Plants are not placed in terrariums with pythons, as large heavy snakes quickly break them. Temperature in a warm corner of the terrarium during the day - up to 30-32°C, at night - 24-26°C. To maintain the desired temperature, special thermal cords And thermal mats. To maintain high humidity, the terrarium and the snake are regularly sprayed with warm water.

Albino dark tiger python

fed tiger pythons, depending on the size, feeding rodents (mice, hamsters, rats), rabbits, guinea pigs quails, chickens, adults sometimes pigs. Cases of attacks of pythons on leopards and jackals are known. Young snakes are fed once a week, adults - no more than once every 8-10 days. It is important not to overfeed pythons, as they can eat a lot and rarely refuse food, but they are prone to obesity and often this leads to death of the animal.

Tiger pythons breed well in captivity. Through breeding, it was possible to bring out and fix several color morphs of the tiger python, of which albino pythons are especially popular with terrariumists. In captivity, hybrids of the dark tiger python with reticulated ( Python reticulatus), royal ( Python regius) and hieroglyphic ( python sebae) pythons.

These snakes are characterized by rapid growth rates, and often reach a length of more than 2 m at the age of one year if they are properly cared for and well fed. At the age of 2.5-4 years, they become sexually mature (although a case of a 1.5-year-old female is known to be pregnant), but continue to grow slowly throughout their lives. The maximum life span of a tiger python in captivity is 25 years.

Despite their usually peaceful behavior and calm nature, even tiger pythons kept in captivity for a long time, if not properly handled, can pose a certain danger to humans. The bites of small pythons are very painful, and large snake can seriously injure or even kill a person by strangling in the rings of the body. Most often, the python attacks the owner when the second one forgets to wash his hands after a rabbit or other food animal, and since the sense of smell in pythons is very well developed, the snake “attacks” the hand without hesitation.


5. Invasive look

Distribution of the tiger python in the United States

Alligator catching a tiger python

The popularity of the dark tiger python as a pet in the US has led to some unusual and rather serious problems. People who were fed up with their pythons and those who were unable to keep snakes that had grown too big got rid of them by releasing them into wildlife. This problem has become especially large in the state of Florida, where a large number of pythons released by former owners settled in the Everglades National Park. Thanks to the warm and humid climate southern state, they took root well there, began to multiply and became harmful invasive species. In the Everglades, tiger pythons compete with Mississippi alligators for a dominant predator niche, with the pythons sometimes attacking and eating alligators, and sometimes the other way around. Since tiger pythons eat birds of rare and endangered species, as well as alligators, these snakes represent new threat for the fragile ecosystem of the national park.