Reticulated Python

The reticulated python (Malayopython reticulatus) is a python species native to South and Southeast Asia. It is the world's longest snake, and the third heaviest after the green anaconda and Burmese python. It is a non-venomous constrictor and an excellent swimmer that has been reported far out at sea. It has colonized many small islands within its range. Because of its wide distribution, it is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List. In several countries in its range, it is hunted for its skin, for use in traditional medicine, and for sale as pets. Due to this, it is one of the most economically important reptiles worldwide. Humans, including adults, have occasionally been killed by reticulated pythons, and several well-documented cases involve victims being swallowed wholly or partly. Most recent reported fatal predation cases have occurred in Indonesia, especially on Sulawesi and nearby islands.

Taxonomy

The reticulated python was first described in 1801 by Johann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider, who described two zoological specimens held by the Göttingen Museum in 1801 that differed slightly in colour and pattern as separate species, Boa reticulata and Boa rhombeata. The specific name, reticulatus, is Latin and means 'net-like', or reticulated, and is a reference to the complex color pattern. The generic name Python was proposed by François Marie Daudin in 1803. Arnold G. Kluge performed a cladistics analysis on morphological characters and recovered the reticulated python lineage as sister to the genus Python, hence not requiring a new generic name in 1993.

In a 2004 genetics study using cytochrome b DNA, Robin Lawson and colleagues discovered the reticulated python as sister to Australo-Papuan pythons, rather than Python molurus and relatives. Raymond Hoser erected the genus Broghammerus for the reticulated python in 2004, naming it after the German snake breeder Stefan Broghammer, on the basis of dorsal patterns distinct from those of the genus Python, and a dark mid-dorsal line from the rear to the front of the head, and red or orange (rather than brown) iris colour. In 2008, Lesley H. Rawlings and colleagues reanalysed Kluge's morphological data and combined it with genetic material, finding the reticulated clade to be an offshoot of the Australo-Papuan lineage as well. They adopted and redefined the genus name Broghammerus.

Most taxonomists choose to ignore Broghammerus and other names by Hoser, as its description lacked scientific rigour and was not published in a reputable journal. R. Graham Reynolds and colleagues accordingly proposed the name Malayopython for this species and its sister species, the Timor python, in 2014. Malayopython has been recognized by subsequent authors and the Reptile Database. Hoser has argued that Broghammerus was validly published and Malayopython name is invalid as it is a junior synonym. Nevertheless, the name Malayopython remains in use by reliable sources, and Broghammerus is referred to as an invalid nomen nudum.

Subspecies