Classification:Introduced Species In 2009, a Central African rock python was found in the Florida Everglades. 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.
Description: Africa's largest snake species and one of the world's largest, the Central African rock python adult measures 9 feet 10 inches to 11 feet 7 inches in total length (including tail), with only unusually large specimens likely to exceed 15 feet 9 inches. Reports of specimens over 19 feet 8 inches are considered reliable, although larger specimens have never been confirmed. Weights are reportedly in the range of 121 to 143 lbs. or more. Exceptionally large specimens may weigh 201 lbs. 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 200 lbs. One specimen, reportedly 23 feet in length, was killed by K. H. Kroft in 1958 and was claimed to have had a 4 feet 11 inches juvenile Nile crocodile in its stomach. An even larger specimen considered authentic was shot in the Gambia and measured 24 ft 7 inches.
The Central African rock python's body is thick and covered with colored 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. The head is triangular and is marked on top with a dark brown “spear-head” outlined in buffy yellow. Teeth are many, sharp, and backwardly curved. Under the eye, there is a distinctive triangular marking, the subocular mark. Like all pythons, the scales of the African rock python are small and smooth. 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.
Habitat: The Central African rock python inhabits a wide range of habitats, including forest, savanna, grassland, semidesert, and rocky areas. It is particularly associated with areas of permanent water, and is found on the edges of swamps, lakes, and rivers. The snake also readily adapts to disturbed habitats, so is often found around human habitation, especially cane fields.
Range: Introduced into the Florida Everglades. The Central African rock python is found throughout almost the whole of sub-Saharan Africa, from Senegal east to Ethiopia and Somalia and south to Namibia and South Africa. P. sebae ranges across central and western Africa, while P. natalensis has a more eastern and southerly range, from southern Kenya to South Africa.
Diet: Like all pythons, the Central African rock python is non-venomous and kills by constriction. After gripping the prey, the snake coils around it, tightening its coils every time the victim breathes out. Death is thought to be caused by cardiac arrest rather than by asphyxiation or crushing. The African rock python feeds on a variety of large rodents, monkeys, warthogs, antelopes, vultures, fruit bats, monitor lizards, crocodiles, and more in forest areas, and on rats, poultry, dogs, and goats in suburban areas. It will sometimes take fish as well.
Reproduction: Reproduction occurs in the spring. Central African rock pythons are oviparious, laying between 20 and 100 hard-shelled, elongated eggs in an old animal burrow, termite mound, or cave. The female shows a surprising level of maternal care, coiling around the eggs, protecting them from predators, and possibly helping to incubate them, until they hatch around 90 days later. The female guards the hatchlings for up to two weeks after they hatch from their eggs to protect them from predators in a manner unusual for snakes in general and pythons in particular. Hatchlings are between 17.5 and 23.5 inches in length and appear virtually identical to adults, except with more contrasting colors. Individuals may live over 12 years in captivity.
Status: This species is heavily-exploited throughout its West African range, particularly for bushmeat and leather, and high rates of decline have been reported within West Africa. Where quantifiable, in West Africa these declines appear to exceed 60% over three generations (a generation estimated as likely to be in excess of 15 years for this long-lived snake). There are unlikely to be substantial declines in East Africa, and it is uncertain whether global declines of between 30–50% over three generations are likely. Further research is needed to quantify declines in this species, and it is tentatively listed as Near Threatened here pending these studies.
Disclaimer: ITIS taxonomy is based on the latest scientific consensus available, and is provided as a general reference source for interested parties. However, it is not a legal authority for statutory or regulatory purposes. While every effort has been made to provide the most reliable and up-to-date information available, ultimate legal requirements with respect to species are contained in provisions of treaties to which the United States is a party, wildlife statutes, regulations, and any applicable notices that have been published in the Federal Register. For further information on U.S. legal requirements with respect to protected taxa, please contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
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