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Python Summary

Pythons, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia, are known for being some of the largest snakes in the world, with 10 genera and 39 species recognized. They kill prey by constriction, causing cardiac arrest, and are oviparous, laying eggs that females incubate. Unlike venomous snakes, pythons rely on physical strength rather than venom to subdue their prey.

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9 views1 page

Python Summary

Pythons, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia, are known for being some of the largest snakes in the world, with 10 genera and 39 species recognized. They kill prey by constriction, causing cardiac arrest, and are oviparous, laying eggs that females incubate. Unlike venomous snakes, pythons rely on physical strength rather than venom to subdue their prey.

Uploaded by

aryan.cognizance
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

The Pythonidae, commonly known as pythons, are a family of nonvenomous snakes found in

Africa, Asia, and Australia. Among its members are some of the largest snakes in the world. Ten

genera and 39 species are currently recognized. Being naturally non-venomous, pythons must

constrict their prey to induce cardiac arrest prior to consumption. Pythons will typically strike at and

bite their prey of choice to gain hold of it; they then must use physical strength to constrict their prey,

by coiling their muscular bodies around the animal, effectively suffocating it before swallowing

whole. This is in stark contrast to venomous snakes such as the rattlesnake, for example, which

delivers a swift, venomous bite but releases, waiting as the prey succumbs to envenomation before

being consumed. Collectively, the pythons are well-documented and studied as constrictors, much

like other non-venomous snakes, including the boas and even kingsnakes of the New World.

Pythons are indigenous to the Old World Tropics, including sub-Saharan Africa, tropical to

subtropical Asia, and Australia, Pythons are ambush predators that primarily kill prey by constriction,

causing cardiac arrest. Pythons are oviparous, laying eggs that females incubate until they hatch.

They possess premaxillary teeth, with the exception of adults in the Australian genus Aspidites.

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