Reticulated Python, Python reticulatus (Schneider, 1801) in Hooghly, West Bengal, India

• DOI: 10.1007/s12595-012-0032-5
• Publication Date: 2012-08-03T12:50:02Z
• Authors: Supratim Mukherjee; Vishal Santra; Gautam Aditya
• Keywords: 0106 biological sciences; 01 natural sciences

The present commentary provides information of a reticulated python, Python reticulatus (Schneider, 1801) (Squamata: Pythonidae) caught from a canal in Baidyabati Hooghly, India. The canal connected to the Ganges is a major source of irrigation water for the district. The python individual was a female, 5.26 m long, 0.567 m in girth at the mid-body and 31 kg in weight. We predict that a possible riverine connection between West Bengal, India and the adjoining regions of Bangladesh and Myanmar provided a route for dispersal of this species.