python

Any constricting snake of the Old World subfamily Pythoninae of the family Boidae, which also includes boas and the anaconda. Pythons are found in the tropics of Africa, Asia, and Australia. Unlike boas, they lay eggs rather than produce living young. Some species are small, but the reticulated python Python reticulatus of Southeast Asia can grow to 10 m/33 ft.

A healthy adult can survive from six to twelve months without food. When food is scarce females do not ovulate so energy is not used up in reproducing.

The Adelaide River floodplain near Darwin, Australia, has a density of water python Liasis fuscus of 30 per sq km, that is 400 kg per sq km of predator. The next highest predator density in the world is 30 kg per sq km (the Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania).

Python

In Greek mythology, a female serpent killed by Apollo at Delphi. The legend probably refers to an earlier oracle at Delphi, superseded by that of Apollo.