Rock Python

“The largest snake in Africa!“

It’s huge, it’s beautiful and though it’s nonvenomous, the African rock python is a reptile to be respected. Who needs venom when you have coils that can crush the life out of a grown goat and jaws that can unhinge to swallow it whole? Read on to learn more about this amazing beast.

5 Incredible Rock Python Facts!

Here are five amazing facts about these snakes.

• These jumbo-sized pythons have been known to weigh over 200 pounds. Most weigh about 121 pounds.
• Pythons from central and western Africa tend to have brighter colors than those from north, south and east Africa.
• The one time adult rock pythons are in danger from natural predators such as hyenas is after they’ve had a large meal and have to stay in one place to digest.
• The Luo people, who live in Kenya, worship unaggressive rock pythons as harbingers of fertility.
• Unlike most snakes, the rock python has two lungs that work. Finding two working lungs helps positively identify one.

Where To Find Rock Pythons

Rock pythons are found in many locations in sub-Saharan Africa, as long as it is not too dry, as it would be in a desert, or too cold as it would be high on a mountain. Their preferred habitats are open savannas and moist evergreen forests near bodies of freshwater, and they get their name because they are often found on outcroppings.

Scientific Name

The African rock python’s scientific name is Python sebae. Python is taken from the Greek nake for the serpent-like monster killed by the god Apollo. Sebae comes from Albertus Seba, a Dutch zoologist. There are two subspecies of P. sebae. They are the following:

• P. subae subae
• P. subae natalensis

The Different Types of Rock Python

The two African rock python subspecies are the northern African rock python, P. sebae sebae which is found in western and central Africa, and the southern African rock python which is found in scattered locations around southern Africa, from Namibia to the coasts of Tanzania and Mozambique. The southern python is the smaller and less colorful of the two.

The African rock python and its subspecies aren’t the only types of these snakes. Python molurus is also known as the Indian or Asian rock python. It is smaller in size than the African rock python and lives in India, Pakistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and southern Nepal, and some believe there are pythons in Myanmar. The Indian rock python also differs from the African rock python in that it is timid.

Evolution

Rock pythons are considered true pythons and are members of the genus Python, a distinction they share with 10 other species. Their closest relatives include the Angolan python, the ball python, the blood python, the Borneo python, the Burmese python, the Indian python, the Myanmar short-tailed python, and the Sumatran short-tailed python.

They also belong to the wider Pythonidae family which itself consists of 10 general including:

• Water pythons: Known as the genus Liasis, these snakes can be found in Indonesia, New Guinea, and Australia.
• Tree pythons: Also referred to as the genus Morelia, they can be found in Australia, Indonesia, and New Guinea.
• White-lipped pythons: Members of the Leiopython genus, they can be found in Papua New Guinea.

Population and Conservation Status 

Though the number of wild African rock pythons hasn’t been evaluated, the reptile’s conservation status is near threatened. This is largely due to poaching for its meat and its hide. The snake is also under some pressure from habitat loss.

Appearance and Description 

An adult P. sebae is a huge animal, ranging from nearly 10 feet to over 20 feet in length, and females are bigger than males. It is not just long but has a robust body that can contribute to it weighing close to 200 pounds or more. It has a small, v-shaped head with a spearhead-shaped pattern on top. The body is grayish-brown, grayish-green, or yellowish with darker blotches edged in white, and the scales are smooth. The belly of the snake is white and speckled with black.

These beautiful patterns and colors make the snake vulnerable to hunters who want its hide for leather. On closer examination, a person might discover pelvic spurs. These are what is left of the hind legs snakes got rid of eons ago. The presence of pelvic spurs is another aid in the identification of a python.

Rock Python vs Burmese Python

Differentiating the rock and Burmese pythons can be challenging because they do look somewhat alike. One means of identification of the Burmese python is that its hide is made of brown blotches edged in black. The blotches on the rock python are edged in white and are sometimes not as distinct and merge together more than the blotches of the other python. The Burmese python, P. bivittatus is also smaller in size than P. sebae and rarely gets over 18 feet long. Though it is considered bad-tempered, the Burmese python is still not as aggressive as the rock python. Though both python mothers incubate and guard their eggs, the Burmese python “shivers” to produce heat for her eggs, while the rock python doesn’t

Venom: How Dangerous Are They?

These snakes are nonvenomous, but they can grow to be so big and powerful that it’s not safe for an inexperienced person to be around them. Even experienced people are sometimes attacked.

Behavior and Humans

As with most types of snakes, P. subae is solitary save for the mating season. Despite their great size, they can climb trees well. They’re also good swimmers and sometimes have fish as part of their diet. They are mostly nocturnal predators, though they might bask in the sun to warm up during the day. Younger snakes are more active at sunup and just after sundown and seek shelter in a tree cavity or under a rock outcropping.

These snakes are ready to breed when they’re between three and five years old, which is when females are about 8.86 feet long, and males are about 5.9 feet long. They have a lifespan as long as 30 years in captivity.

The snakes mate in the late fall to late winter or early spring. Both males and females stop eating at this time, and the female won’t eat again until her eggs hatch. She’ll lay them about three months after mating in an abandoned burrow, a cave, a hollow tree, or a termite mound. A clutch can contain from 20 to as many as 100 surprisingly large, hard-shelled eggs. She’ll guard them until they hatch, which is 65 to 80 days after they were laid. Hatchlings are independent at birth. Some mothers take no more care of their babies, while others guard them for as long as two weeks. This is very unusual behavior for a snake.

Though big rock pythons are capable of killing humans, this is very rare. Humans, however, frequently kill rock pythons for their meat and their hides. Some people try to keep these animals as pets. Juvenile pythons are beneficial for they eat rats and other pests before they move on to larger fare as they grow.

Similar Animals

• Burmese python
• Reticulated python
• Carpet python

1. Wikipedia, Available here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_rock_python
2. ITIS, Available here: https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=634785#null
3. Florida Museum, Available here: https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=634785#null
4. Lincoln Park Zoo, Available here: https://www.lpzoo.org/animal/african-rock-python/
5. Toronto Star, Available here: https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2015/10/07/kentucky-reptile-store-owner-recovering-after-python-attack.html
6. National Geographic, Available here: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/130806-african-rock-python-snakes-canada-killed-boys-world