Python Types

Reticulated Python

• The largest of the species is Python reticulatus or the Asiatic reticulated python found in Southeast Asia. Adults may grow up to 28 feet long. The Highland Park Zoo in Pittsburgh became the home of the largest reticulated python in the world, a female by the name of Colossus, who grew to 28.5 feet. Reticulated pythons are also sea snakes, which allowed them to relocate in islands off the coast of Southeast Asia.

African Rock Python

• Python sebae, also known as the African rock python, is another one of the larger python species. Typical adult length ranges up to 16 feet, while longer pythons have been spotted but not recorded, according to "Tales of Giant Snakes: A Historical Natural History of Anacondas and Pythons" by John C. Murphy. African rock pythons are brown, olive and tan with blotchy coloring. Found in the Sahara from Ethiopia to Somalia, this python was also spotted in the Florida Everglades in 2009, which adds to the problem of the Burmese python, which already has established an invasive presence there.

Burmese Python

• The Burmese python is a subspecies of the Indian python and also one of the longer varieties, growing up to 19 feet possibly, according to "A Popular Treatise on the Common Indian Snakes," a document from 1868 classifying Asian snakes for the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. The Burmese python lives in trees and on land but also aquatic regions. Dark in color with black and brown blotches, the Burmese python migrated to the United States. An invasive species, Burmese pythons continue to create a problem for the Florida Everglades, as they reproduce at a high rate and eat a number of other animals, including birds, alligators, deer and other wildlife. The Burmese python is also known for its yellow to white albino form.

Other Python Species

• There are many varieties of pythons, located all over the world. Some other pythons include the Angolan python from southern Angola in Africa and Namibia; the short-tailed python from Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia; ball or royal python from African nations such as Senegal, Mali, Guinea-Bissau and Nigeria; and Timor python from Indonesia.