Nature
PUBLISHED
2
The longest snake in the world is the reticulated python, Malayopython reticulatus. While they typically stretch to lengths surpassing 6 meters (20 feet), the longest ever recorded was said to be a whopping 10-meter (33-foot) long reticulated python that was found on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi in 1912. Unfortunately, that lengthy specimen was also shot, so the record was smashed posthumously.
The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.There is another record holder that lives on, however, and you can find her slithering around a haunted house in Kansas City, Missouri. Yes, in the United States, you can meet Medusa, who holds the Guinness World Record as the longest snake in captivity.
Cared for at The Edge Of Hell haunted house by Full Moon Productions, she measured 7.67 meters (25.2 feet) long when she was measured for the award back in 2011. It took 15 people to carry her for the celebratory photo, as she weighed an impressive 158.8 kilograms (350 pounds). Like all reticulated pythons, she has a mesmerizing array of diamond and zigzag shapes all along her enormous body.
Medusa will turn 21 on October 13, 2025, so visitors to The Edge Of Hell attraction better hope she tackles turning of drinking age with more grace than most humans. Reticulated pythons are among the longest-living snake species, living in the wild to around 22 years old, while captive pythons have gone on into their 30s.
While Medusa is the most recent record-breaking snake to be acknowledged by Guinness World Records, another, longer reticulated python was found in 2018. The humongous reptile was 8 meters (26 feet) long (pictures here), but died just three days after it was captured on a construction site in Penang, Malaysia. It’s believed the giant was laying an egg when she passed, but we don't know exactly what killed her.
As well as being the longest snake in the world, the reticulated python can reproduce on its own through asexual reproduction, also known as parthenogenesis. An 11-year-old reticulated python named Thelma was the first to show off the talent to the scientific community after laying six fertilized eggs without mating with a male.
Scientists were able to rule out the possibility that Thelma had simply been storing up some sperm because genetic analysis of skin shed samples showed all six babies were produced by her alone. In sexual reproduction, sperm and egg cells need to fuse to create an embryo, but in Thelma’s case, cells called polar bodies (which contain genetic material leftover from egg cell formation) basically took the place of sperm.
So, not only the world’s longest snake, but one that can make other long snakes all on its own. Just a thought, Medusa…
