Reticulated python
Amazing fact
The reticulated python uses its forked tongue to carry particles from the air to an organ inside its mouth to sense smells.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
The reticulated python uses its forked tongue to carry particles from the air to an organ inside its mouth to sense smells.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Reticulated python
- Scientific name
- Malayopython reticulatus
- Japanese name
- アミメニシキヘビ
- Group
- Amphibians and reptiles
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Pythonidae
- Genus
- Malayopython
A snake of Southeast Asia. It prefers places near water, because water makes it easier for such a big body to move.
Its body is light yellowish to brown, and along its back black lines form a repeating pattern of diamond shapes.
It senses the body heat of prey with heat-sensing organs called pits. It mostly eats mammals and birds.
How the Reticulated python lives
In wetlands, it hides under brush to ambush prey. It often moves by contracting its large body and then stretching it out in a straight line. Climbing trees is more common when it is small and young. It sheds its skin as its body grows.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity WebBasic data
- Size
- 1.6–9 m
- Weight
- 100–270 kg, average 150 kg
- Range
- Southeastern Asia and Indo-Pacific islands west of New Guinea
Where the Reticulated python has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- アミメニシキヘビ
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web — Python reticulatusChecked: 2026-11-03
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
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