So many snakes, So little knowledge

Giant Snakes I read this article by Mark O'shea and thought it interesting so I'm Leaving this to Mark O'Shea. Fact or Fiction? Giant Snakes Do giant snakes exist and if so, how big do they get? For as long as there has been travelers to tell them, travelers tales have been liberally scattered with stories of giant snakes, and not just in the exotic tropics. Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) related tales of a giant 'boa' that ate children, and this was in Italy. We are now as certain as we can be that there are no giant snakes living in Europe, but what about the remote tropics, South America, Africa, Southeast Asia, Australia? There are so many stories surely they must have some foundation. One of the most important tools for early explorers, biologists and natural historians was their firearm. Even Darwin, Wallace and Bates, those pioneering nineteenth century naturalists, shot almost everything they encountered of course most of our species weren't endangered then. In the case of giant snakes the principle of shoot first ask questions later, was probably based as much on fear of these potentially very dangerous creatures as anything else. Some of these shot snakes were then measured, with varying degrees of accuracy, I'm sure some of these early explorers had fishermen's tape measures, while the length of others was simply guessed at, an unreliable practice because these measurements always get rounded up and grow with each telling of the tale. The mind is apt to play tricks with these creatures, my four foot odd Diamond python at times seems six foot plus to me, and I know him, encountering a strange unknown reptile in the dense jungle, it's easy to see how it could double its length. Measuring a live snake is not the easiest of tasks at the best of times. No matter how many times I ask them, my snakes just won't 'hold still and keep your back straight'. On that subject physically holding them straight is not a good idea, it's not natural to them, have you ever seen a straight snake, and most pythons don't like their sensitive prehensile tails to be touched. So what about sizeable prepared snakeskins, the curing and tanning process would have shrunk them so the original snake would have been huge. No, in fact the process of removing the skin from the carcass stretches it quite considerably. Research has show that they stretch between 20 and 40 %. Ok surely shed skins don't stretch, they do and by varying amounts, which I believe is due to the prevailing weather (humidity). Because snakes are very vulnerable to predators during the shedding process, it is in their nature to shed secretively, in captive snakes this generally means at night. When mine shed, I remove the skin, usually it's in one piece, the next morning and measure it, sometimes the skin is shorter than the last one from the same snake, and I know the snake hasn.t shrunk. So that's unreliable as a means of measuring snakes. Today we know of five species that grow to lengths in excess of 6 metres. Three species have been recorded as reaching maximum lengths of 7.5-8.5 metres. The Asian Rock Python to 6.7 metres The African Rock Python to 7.6 metres The Australian Scrub Python to 8.5metres The longest reliable records for Asian Rock Pythons is around 6.7 metres, it is unclear if these relate to whole specimens or skins. The longest African Rock Python recorded was 9.1 metres, but this was the skin length after it had been skinned, so deducting the 20% for stretch, would make it around 7.6 metres. There is a record of a Scrub Python killed near Cairns, Queensland, Australia in 1948 that measured 8.5 metres and several records of around 7.6 metres. The two remaining species are believed to reach greater lengths. The Green Anaconda to 11.5 metres The Reticulated Python to 11.55 metres    The record length of the reticulated python has not been as controversial as that of the Green Anaconda. The python is much more slender than the anaconda and therefore does not give the same impression of size. Though the reticulated python may be the longest snake in the world, the anaconda is definitely the heaviest. There are numerous reticulated pythons reported at between 7.6 and 9.1 metres, both reliably and unreliably. The generally accepted record for a reticulated python is a specimen shot in Sulawesi, Indonesia in 1912 that measured 10.0 metres. There is a report of an 11.55 metre that was killed, after attacking a man. This seems to be the largest specimen claimed, even dubiously, in contrast to the super size claims for the Anaconda. Stories of giant anacondas abound, with almost every 19th and early 20th century explorer who ventured into the Amazon encountering them. Examining the stories scientifically produces different results to what the romantic explorer saw. Imagine an extra wide snake trail on the river bank, or the great coils of an anaconda seen breaking the surface of the river. The obvious conclusion is that some monster was responsible. In truth a normal sized snake, having consumed a large meal, would leave a trail as wide as its widest point, its swollen belly, or digestion has progressed to a point where gases have built up in the stomach, making the coils buoyant and float at the surface, while the rest of the normal sized snake remains under water. Colonel Percy Fawcett, an Amazonian explorer, made some amazing claims, meeting and shooting 30ft anacondas was a regular occurrence, he reported shooting one that was 62 foot, yet was only 12 inches in diameter, that's a large but not giant snake. Numerous other explorers, missionaries, soldiers etc made claims that either equaled or exceeded those of Fawcett. Were they all lying, mistaken or poor judges of size? So many stories come out of the Amazon, one is forced to conclude there must be something there. It has been suggested that a giant species of anaconda might well exist in the remoter parts of the Amazon, a species separate from the Green Anaconda and its relatives. Assuming that such a species existed, it must begin life as a juvenile, even if a large one. Why are there no unidentified large juvenile anacondas in the worlds' museums? Ok, so museums aren't infallible and on examination these days, some specimens are proving to be misidentified, and new species are being discovered all the time, so it's possible. The majority of anacondas studied by herpetologists are in areas with large known populations, usually the seasonally flooded savannahs. There is abundant prey available and many anacondas, but few reports of specimens over 7.3 metres. As these are seasonally flooded and for part of the year they are dry and inhospitable, there are times when the anacondas are not eating and growing. Most of the tales of giant anacondas spring from the rainforest shrouded rivers deep in the Amazon, where prey may be less abundant, but of a larger size. In these non-seasonal rivers, are they able to take tapir, deer, jaguar? And having feed put that nutrition into growth? Remembering that although less abundant this prey is most likely available year round. Being aquatic, they can obtain huge dimensions, simply because the water will support their weight, terrestrial pythons need to have a more slender physique to move across land. It is therefore likely that the Green Anacondas living in rivers where they can feed and grow all year round and reach a size where they are capable of taking larger prey. These giant anacondas would most likely become completely aquatic and living in the murky waters could easily escape detection by man. Still this doesn't answer how long they will actually grow. Snakes continue to grow throughout their life and all species have a natural lifespan, which, is only rarely exceeded. Records for the five species are: Scrub Python, 13 years 10 months, African Rock Python, 27 years 4 months, Green Anaconda 28 years, Reticulated Python, 29 years 5 months, Asian Rock Python, 34 years 2 months. These were captive snakes that were fed regular meals and not at risk from predators or humans in the wild. Regular meals and growing to a vast size does not increase their lifespan, so assuming an Anaconda could live for 30 years, lengths of 18 metres or more are hard to believe.   Mark O'Shea I'm throwing a wild card in here. In a small remote, isolated area on aboriginal tribal land, in outback Australia, lives the little known Oenpelli Python. A species that is practically unstudied. Aboriginal folklore has this as a giant serpent, anecdotal evidence suggests it reaches over 7 metres in length. A caesarian performed on an egg bound female produced 10 eggs almost twice the size of the Scrub Pythons eggs, evidence of Graeme Gows prediction that the maximum length of this species is yet to be determined, and when it is, this may prove to be Australia's, if not the world's longest snake.                       The only difference between people who hate and love reptiles is that those who hate them never tried to know them. Those who did become addicts.   Stan Gielewski Where to Now? About Me Blindsnakes Boas & Anacondas Snake Breeders Snake Caresheets Clubs, Societies & Associations Colubrids Snake Forums Giant Snakes? Home Snakes and Humans Health Matters Keeping Snakes My Links Other Snake Stuff Mythology and Legends Elapids and Vipers Snakes As Pets Pythons Seasnakes & Filesnakes Retailers and Manufacturers A Tribute to a lost one Man-eating Snakes? 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