Pythonidae · Philippine record
Malayopython reticulatus(SCHNEIDER 1801)
A widespread Southeast Asian python with a distinctive Philippine genetic history. Its ecology connects forest, waterways and human-modified landscapes.
Literature updated 2026-10-07 · Editorial review pending
Explore the island records ↓Species portrait
Malayopython reticulatus
Image to followThe illustrated collection
Adult · study plate
Malayopython reticulatus
Image to followJuvenile · study plate
Malayopython reticulatus
Image to followLife stages will be labelled from the contributor’s information. Images alone do not establish identification or a locality record.
Media provenance
Contributor images are forthcoming. Photographs and illustrations will retain their individual credits, permissions and evidence notes.
A closer look
Reticulated pythons use both forest and modified landscapes. Tracking in Sabah found selection for places near water and flood-prone ground; forest habitat was generally more suitable than oil-palm plantations.
Literature documented · Repository abstract
Lower Kinabatangan, Sabah, Malaysia; comparative species ecology, not a Philippine habitat survey.
Movement and space use vary with habitat. In the Sabah study, tracked pythons in plantations moved less often and occupied smaller home ranges than those in forest.
Literature documented · Repository abstract; telemetry study
Sixteen VHF-tracked pythons. These findings should not be treated as universal movement distances.
Philippine samples form a distinctive mitochondrial group in a 2017 range-wide study. This genetic differentiation warrants further investigation; it does not by itself establish a separate species.
Literature documented · Abstract; conservation implications
Initial mitochondrial survey across Southeast Asia.
Conservation planning needs to account for geographic genetic diversity and the origin of traded animals. Broad trade totals alone cannot reveal the condition of individual island populations.
Literature documented · Conservation implications, points 1–3
Management recommendations, not a current population trend or Red List assessment.
The species account records egg-laying reproduction. A verified Philippine clutch-size range, incubation interval and breeding calendar are not established here.
Literature documented · Reproduction field
Reproductive mode reported for this named species.
Mode alone does not establish litter or clutch size, seasonal timing, or captive husbandry requirements.
The atlas records Malayopython reticulatus from these named Philippine areas: Luzon, Mindoro, Palawan, Mindanao, Samar, Leyte, Panay, Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Basilan, Polillo, Calamian, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi. These are literature areas rather than a continuous range boundary.
Literature documented · Existing checklist occurrence statement and distribution review
The original evidence level is retained.
A country listing cannot establish an island or a precise locality.
Across the archipelago
Documented islands: gold · island groups: dashed circles
Island-level records · not continuous habitat coverage. Dashed circles locate groups, not individual observations.
Philippine distribution
Select an island to read its distribution record and sources. Uncoloured islands are not evidence of absence.
Indonesia (Ambon, Anambas Islands, Babi, Bacan = Batjan, Bali ?, Banda Besar, Bangka, Bankak, Belitung, Boano, Borneo, Buru, Butung, Enggano, Flores, Halmahera, Haruku, Java, Kalimantan, Krakatau, Lang, Lombok, Mentawai Archipelago, Natuna Archipelago, Nias, Obira, Riau Archipelago, Saparua, Seram; Simeulue, Sula Archipelago, Sulawesi, Sumatra, Sumba, Sumbawa, Tanimbar, Ternate, Timor, Verlate, We); Timor-Leste, Bangladesh [Khan, 1988; Das, 1994]; Brunei Darussalam; Cambodia; India (Mizoram, Nicobar Islands); Laos; Malaysia (Malaya and East Malaysia, Pulau Tioman); W Malaysia (fide Grandison 1977), Myanmar (Burma); Philippines (Basilan, Bohol, Cebu, Leyte, Luzon, Mindanao, Mindoro, Negros, Palawan: Calamian Islands, Panay, Polillo, Samar, Tawi-Tawi, Sulu Archipelago, Itbayat); Singapore, Thailand; Vietnam. saputrai: Selayar (= Salayar) Island [6.10°S; 120.50°E], south of SW Sulawesi in the Flores Sea (Fig. 1) and SW Sulawesi; Type locality: Selayar Island, Indonesia jampeanus: With certainty only known from Tanahjampea (7°4S; 120°41E); possibly also on some small neighboring islands, Sulawesi (DE LANG & VOGEL 2006). Type locality: Tanahjampea Island, Indonesia. Type locality: unknown (fide KLUGE 1993) Type locality: Rengit, West Malaysia [fide Auliya et al. 2002]
The atlas records Malayopython reticulatus from these named Philippine areas: Luzon, Mindoro, Palawan, Mindanao, Samar, Leyte, Panay, Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Basilan, Polillo, Calamian, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi. These are literature areas rather than a continuous range boundary.
The Reptile Database — species checklist, 17 June 2026 ↗Existing checklist occurrence statement and distribution review
Synopsis of the Snakes of the Philippines: A Synthesis of Data from Biodiversity Repositories, Field Studies, and the Literature ↗Existing checklist occurrence statement and distribution review
References attached to this species account. Island-specific evidence is shown separately where available.
The Reptile Database — species checklist, 17 June 2026 ↗
Ecology of the Reticulated Python (Malayopython reticulatus): Life in an altered landscape ↗
Malayopython reticulatus — The Reptile Database species account ↗
Living with wildlife
Venom classification not yet added · Effects not yet summarised in this atlas
Observe from a distance. Do not handle, corner or capture a snake to identify it. An incomplete venom account is not evidence that a species is safe to handle.
After a suspected snakebite, keep the person still and arrange urgent medical care. Avoid tight tourniquets, cutting, suction and unproven remedies. Do not wait to identify the snake before seeking help.
WHO guidance on snakebite first aidSpecies record
Range noteCountry/island text is not a range polygon or locality record.
Indonesia (Ambon, Anambas Islands, Babi, Bacan = Batjan, Bali ?, Banda Besar, Bangka, Bankak, Belitung, Boano, Borneo, Buru, Butung, Enggano, Flores, Halmahera, Haruku, Java, Kalimantan, Krakatau, Lang, Lombok, Mentawai Archipelago, Natuna Archipelago, Nias, Obira, Riau Archipelago, Saparua, Seram; Simeulue, Sula Archipelago, Sulawesi, Sumatra, Sumba, Sumbawa, Tanimbar, Ternate, Timor, Verlate, We); Timor-Leste, Bangladesh [Khan, 1988; Das, 1994]; Brunei Darussalam; Cambodia; India (Mizoram, Nicobar Islands); Laos; Malaysia (Malaya and East Malaysia, Pulau Tioman); W Malaysia (fide Grandison 1977), Myanmar (Burma); Philippines (Basilan, Bohol, Cebu, Leyte, Luzon, Mindanao, Mindoro, Negros, Palawan: Calamian Islands, Panay, Polillo, Samar, Tawi-Tawi, Sulu Archipelago, Itbayat); Singapore, Thailand; Vietnam. saputrai: Selayar (= Salayar) Island [6.10°S; 120.50°E], south of SW Sulawesi in the Flores Sea (Fig. 1) and SW Sulawesi; Type locality: Selayar Island, Indonesia jampeanus: With certainty only known from Tanahjampea (7°4S; 120°41E); possibly also on some small neighboring islands, Sulawesi (DE LANG & VOGEL 2006). Type locality: Tanahjampea Island, Indonesia. Type locality: unknown (fide KLUGE 1993) Type locality: Rengit, West Malaysia [fide Auliya et al. 2002]
Names through time
Boa reticulata SCHNEIDER 1801 Boa rhombeata SCHNEIDER 1801 Boa Phrygia SHAW 1802 Coluber Javanicus SHAW 1802 Python Schneideri MERREM 1820 Python reticulatus — FITZINGER 1826 Constrictor schneideri — WAGLER 1830 Python schneiderii — CUVIER 1831: 96 Python reticulatus — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1844: 426 Python reticulatus — BOULENGER 1893: 85 Python reticulatus — SMITH 1943: 109 Python reticulatus — HENDRICKSON 1966: 67 Morelia reticulatus — WELCH 1988 Python reticulatus — KLUGE 1993 Python reticulatus — WALLS 1995 Python reticulatus — MANTHEY & GROSSMANN 1997: 429 Python reticulatus — COX et al. 1998: 14 Python reticulatus — MCDIARMID, CAMPBELL & TOURÉ 1999: 179 Broghammerus reticulatus — HOSER 2004 Broghammerus reticulatus dalegibbonsi HOSER 2004 Broghammerus reticulatus euanedwardsi HOSER 2004 Broghammerus reticulatus haydnmacphiei HOSER 2004 Broghammerus reticulatus neilsonnemani HOSER 2004 Broghammerus reticulatus patrickcouperi HOSER 2004 Broghammerus reticulatus stuartbigmorei HOSER 2004 (nom. dub.) Broghammerus reticulatus — RAWLINGS et al. 2008 Phyton reticulatus — RELOX et al. 2011 (in error) Python (Broghammerus) reticulatus reticulatus — KOCH 2012 Broghammerus reticulatus — COX et al. 2012: 48 Python reticulatus — WALLACH et al. 2014: 621 Malayopython reticulatus — REYNOLDS et al. 2014 Python reticulatus — CHAN-ARD et al. 2015: 153 Malaphyton reticulatus — AUREO 2025 (in error) Malayopython reticulatus jampeanus (AULIYA et al. 2002) Python reticulatus jampeanus AULIYA, MAUSFELD, SCHMITZ & BÖHME 2002 Python reticulatus jampeanus — DE LANG & VOGEL 2005 Broghammerus reticulatus jampeanus — RAWLINGS et al. 2008 (by implication) Python reticulatus jampeanus — KOCH 2011 Python (Broghammerus) reticulatus jampeanus — KOCH 2012 Python reticulatus jampeanus — WIRTH & GEIGER 2012 Malayopython reticulatus jampeanus — REYNOLD et al. 2014 Malayopython reticulatus saputrai (AULIYA et al. 2002) Python reticulatus saputrai AULIYA, MAUSFELD, SCHMITZ & BÖHME 2002: 207 Python reticulatus saputrai — DE LANG & VOGEL 2005 Broghammerus reticulatus saputrai — RAWLINGS et al. 2008 (by implication) Python reticulatus saputrai — KOCH 2011 Python (Broghammerus) reticulatus saputrai — KOCH 2012 Malayopython reticulatus saputrai — REYNOLD et al. 2014
Synonymy partly after SCHLEIP & O’SHEA 2010. Conservation: This species is commercially exploited for the skin trade. From Im 2000 to 2007 Malaysia and Indonesia exported 1,246,03 and 1,241,076 wild pythons, respectively, just for the fashion industry! [M. Auliya, pers. comm.]. Phylogenetics: Python reticulatus and Python timoriensis are paraphyletic with respect to other Python species. Type species: Constrictor schneideri WAGLER 1830 (= Python Schneideri MERREM 1820) is the type species of the genus Malayopython REYNOLDS et al. 2014. Boa reticulata SCHNEIDER 1801 is the type species of the genus Broghammerus HOSER 2004 and of the genus Malayopython fide BARKER et al. 2015. Diet: P. reticulatus has been documented killing tigers, panthers and crocodiles (BARONE 2006). Distribution: most records from India are questionable but Kalki et al. 2018 found one record from Calcutta that may represent a genuine record for mainland India. However, this needs additional confirmation. Habitat: partly arboreal (Harrington et al. 2018).
Uetz, P.; Freed, P.; Aguilar, R.; Reyes, F.; Kudera, J.; Hošek, J. (eds.)
Leviton, A. E.; Siler, C. D.; Weinell, J. L.; Brown, R. M.
Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 64(14): 399–568
Murray-Dickson, G.; Ghazali, M.; Ogden, R.; Brown, R.; Auliya, M.
PLOS ONE 12(8): e0182049
Burger, Richard
PhD thesis, Cardiff University
Repository abstract consulted. Fieldwork in Sabah, Malaysia; ecological comparisons are labelled geographically.
Uetz, P.; Hallermann, J. et al. (editors)
Public species fields consulted for bounded biological summaries. Primary sources quoted within the database were not independently examined unless explicitly stated. The catalogue name may differ from the current source title.