Python reticulatus

Sanca flower is Python reticulatus a kind of venomous snakes are not large. The biggest size is said to exceed 10 meters. Longer than an anaconda (Eunectes), the largest and longest snake in South America. Other names are the python; snakes fields; rice-n-etem (Simeulue); snake petola (Ambon), and a reticulated python in English or often abbreviated retics.

Identification
Python is easily recognizable because the flowers are generally large. Family python (Pythonidae) relatively easily distinguished from other snakes by looking at the dorsal scales are more than 45 rows, and scales ventralnya narrower than the width of the underside of her body. In western Indonesia, there are five species: three species of short stature that is obese group peraca snake (Python curtus group: P. curtus, P. and P. brongersmai breitensteini) in Sumatra, Borneo and the Malay Peninsula.

Two other species are relatively long-bodied, solid muscular: P. molurus (python bodo) and P. reticulatus. Both are spread from Asia to the Great Sunda, including Java. P. molurus has a different developmental pattern of reticulatus, especially with the large V pattern in dark over his head. Sanca flowers have a pattern of circles shaped nets (reticula, nets), composed of the colors black, brown, yellow and white along the dorsal side of his body. A thin black line running over the head from nose to nape, resembling the center line that divides the two sides of the head symmetrically. And each one other black lines that are thicker on each side of the head, through the eyes back.

The scales of the dorsal (back) are arranged in rows 70-80; scales ventral (stomach) as much as 297-332 pieces, from below the neck to the anus; subkaudal scales (the bottom side of the tail) 75-102 pairs. Rostral shield (scales on the tip of the snout) and four shields supralabial (scales on the upper lip) leading edge has a groove hole smell heat (heat sensor pits) are in (Tweedie 1983).

Biology and Distribution

Python snake countless flowers of the largest and longest in the world. The Guinness Book of World Records in 1991 noted python development along 32 feet 9.5 inches (about 10 meters) as the longest snake (Murphy and Henderson 1997). But the common is snakes measuring 5-8 meters. While the maximum recorded weight was 158 kg (347.6 lbs). Python snake which includes long-lived, up to more than 25 years.

The snakes females have larger bodies. If a male has started mating on body length about 7-9 feet, the new female at about 11 feet long. Adult sex is reached between the ages of 2-4 years.

Breeding season lasts from September to March in Asia. Reduced day length and decreasing the air temperature is a driving factor that stimulates the mating season. However, this season can vary from one place to another. Shine et al. 1999 find that the python flowers around Palembang, South Sumatra, spawn between September-October, while around Medan, North Sumatra, between the months of April-May.

Males and females will fast in the breeding season, so the body size becomes important here. Females will even continue fasting until the spawn, and very likely also to egg hatch.

Sanca flower laying between 10 to around 100 grains. These eggs 'incubation' at a temperature of 88-90 ° F (31-32 ° C) for 80-90 days, even more than 100 days. Female snake will encircle these eggs with a contract. Movement of these muscles generate heat which will increase the temperature of the eggs several degrees above ambient temperature. Females will guard the eggs from predators until they hatch. But only until that's all; once hatched, the babies were abandoned snakes and his fate handed to nature.

Sanca flowers spread in the forests of Southeast Asia. Starting from Kep. Nicobar Islands, Burma up to Indochina; south through the Malay Peninsula up to Sumatra, Borneo, Java, Nusa Tenggara (up to Timor), Sulawesi, and north to the Philippines (Murphy and Henderson 1997).

Sanca flower has three subspecies. Besides P.r. reticulatus that life is widespread, two more are Pr jampeanus a limited spread in the island Jampea Land and Pr saputrai a limited spread in Selayar Islands. Both off the south coast of South Sulawesi.

Ecology
Sanca flowers live in the forests of the humid tropics (Mattison, 1999). The snake is dependent on the availability of water, so often found not far from water bodies like rivers, ponds and swamps.

Its main food is small mammals, birds and other reptiles such as lizards. Small snakes prey on frogs, lizards and fish. Large snakes are reported to prey on dogs, monkeys, wild boar, deer, even the man who 'strayed' into place waiting for prey (Mattison 1999, Murphy and Henderson 1997, Shine et al. 1999). These snakes prefer to wait rather than actively hunting, perhaps because of his size is great to spend a lot of energy.

Prey being hamstrung by tight melilitnya (constricting) to death out of breath. Some of the bones in the chest and hip circumference may be broken by it. Then after dead prey swallowed whole from the head.

After eating, especially after swallowing large prey, these snakes will fast a few days to several months until he was hungry again. A python that are kept in Regent's Park in 1926 refused to eat for 23 months, but after that he was back to normal (Murphy and Henderson 1997).

Python and the Humans

Python-especially small-often maintained because of the relatively benign and beautiful skin. Folk performances, such as monkey masks, often carrying a python flowers that have been benign for the show. Local circus python also sometimes carry large to be exhibited or rented to take his picture.

Sanca many people hunted for its skin taken the beautiful and good quality. More than 500,000 pieces of python skin flowers are traded annually. Most of the skins are exported from Indonesia, with the main source of Sumatra and Kalimantan. All are caught in the wild.