Central African rock python

The Central African rock python was first described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin, a German naturalist, in 1789. It is one of ten species in the genus Python, large constricting snakes found in the moist tropics of Asia and Africa. The generic name Python is a Greek word referring to the enormous serpent at Delphi slain by Apollo in Greek mythology. The specific name sebae is a latinization of the surname of Dutch zoologist, Albertus Seba. Common name usage varies with the species referred to as the African rock python or simply the rock python. ==Description==

The Central African rock python is Africa's largest snake species and one of the world's largest. Adults measure in total length, with only unusually large specimens likely to exceed . Reports of specimens over are considered reliable, although larger specimens have never been confirmed. Weights are reportedly in the range of or more. Exceptionally large specimens weigh or more. On average, large adults of Central African rock pythons are quite heavily built, perhaps more so than most specimens of the somewhat longer reticulated as well as Indian and Burmese pythons and far more so than the amethystine python, although the species is on average less heavily built than the green anaconda. The species may be the second heaviest living snake with some authors agreeing that it can exceptionally exceed . A large specimen considered authentic was shot in the Gambia and measured . One individual captured in Côte d'Ivoire was allegedly long. The body is thick and covered with coloured blotches, often joining up in a broad, irregular stripe. Body markings vary between brown, olive, chestnut, and yellow, but fade to white on the underside. Those around the lips possess heat-sensitive pits, which are used to detect warm-blooded prey, even in the dark. Pythons also possess two functioning lungs, unlike more advanced snakes, which have only one, and also have small, visible pelvic spurs, believed to be the vestiges of hind limbs. • P. sebae has two prominent light lines from the nose, over the eye to the back of the head, which are much duller in P. natalensis. • The northern species has considerably larger head scales. (max.size measured 5.8 m.) and, while P. sebae with an average length between 2.7 and 4.6 m long (max.size measured 6.5 m.). • In P. natalensis, the dark patch in front of and posterior to the eye is paler and narrower than in P. sebae, giving the appearance of a dark stripe as opposed to a yellow stripe at the level of the eye. ==Distribution and habitat==

The Central African rock python occurs throughout much of tropical sub-Saharan Africa. It ranges across central and western Africa, from Senegal east to Ethiopia and Somalia and south to northern Angola and northern Tanzania. on the edges of swamps, lakes, and rivers. It is feared to be establishing itself as an invasive species alongside the already-established Burmese python. Feral rock pythons were also noted in the 1990s in the Everglades. ==Behaviour and ecology==

Feeding Like all pythons, the Central African rock python is non-venomous and kills by constriction. The largest ever recorded meal of any snake was when a 4.9 m African Rock Python consumed a 59 kg impala. Reproduction Reproduction occurs in the spring. Hatchlings are between in length and appear virtually identical to adults, except with more contrasting colours. ==Human interaction==

Attacks Documented attacks on humans are exceptionally rare, despite the species being common in many regions of Africa, and living in diverse habitats including those with agricultural activity. Bite marks around the boy's neck and ears may have resulted from an attempt to swallow him. An autopsy showed that the boys died of asphyxiation, The owner was charged with criminal negligence for not adequately protecting the boys from the snake. (See main article). • In 2017, a female Central African rock python, kept as a pet in Hampshire, England, was found to have killed its owner by asphyxiation, according to a coroner's inquest. Other reported attacks • In 2009 in Sabaki Village, Malindi District, Kenya, a male farm manager was reportedly attacked after stepping on a python, the exact species of which was not determined. After an hour's struggle, he was reportedly dragged up a tree, but was then rescued by police and villagers after he was able to call for help on his mobile phone. The snake was reportedly captured by police, but had escaped and disappeared by the next day. The man said he bit the snake's tail while he was being attacked and was injured on his lower lip because the tip of the tail was sharp. Conservation People are often fearful of large pythons and may kill them on sight. Consequently, it is listed as a Near threatened species. It is also collected for the pet trade, although it is not generally recommended as a pet due to its large size and unpredictable temperament. , Gabon The Central African rock python is still relatively common in many regions across Africa, and may adapt to disturbed habitats, giving wild populations some protection from overcollection for pets and skins. The species is also likely to occur in a number of protected areas, such as the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, a World Heritage site. In the Florida Everglades, where the Central African rock python is an invasive species and posing a threat to indigenous wildlife, it has no protected status and is one of the species listed on a hunting program recently authorized by state officials to eradicate non-native reptiles, the others being the Burmese python, reticulated python, green anaconda, and Nile monitor. In culture Luo people of Kenya living mainly in the area near Lake Victoria generally consider snakes to be evil and believe that sorcerers make them harm people. They express a different attitude towards pythons – such as making them appear in play songs and even worshiping them. The Luo call the Central African rock python in their language, and with the songs containing a phrase "python the coiling", children make a line and imitate a python's motion. When the Luo worship a python, they call her Omieri (or Omweri) a returning python-spirit. The python is then seen as a reincarnation of Omieri, Goddess of Harvest and linked with rain and fertility. In some parts of eastern Nigeria, particularly in the towns of Idemili in Anambra, the python is revered as a sacred symbol of the deity Eke Idemili. Similarly, in Njaba, the Eke Njaba, a harmless snake regarded as the deity's property, is also held in high esteem. This reverence is so deeply ingrained culturally that even Christians in these areas have not fully renounced the sacredness of the snake, and any harm to the Eke Njaba requires ritual cleansing or even a proper burial when killed, to avoid the deity's wrath. ==References==