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A humongous reticulated python measuring 26.2 - foot - long ( 8 meters ) long was conquer at a Malayan construction situation last week , but the snake died three twenty-four hours by and by while lay an egg , news sources describe .

The Malaysian snake was longer than five rattling pianos ( each forte-piano is about 5 feet , or 1.5 m long ) ; a pickup truck truck ( those are about 19.3 feet , or 5.8 m ) ; and almost as long as an grownup giraffe stand up on the head of another giraffe ( giraffes are about 14 feet marvelous , or 4.3 m ) .

reticulated python in Malaysia

The Malaysia Civil Defence Department holds up a 26.2-foot-long (8 meters) python discovered on Penang island.

It ’s also longer than Medusa , the longest captive snake in the grass on record book , harmonise to Guinness World Records . In October 2011 , Medusa , a reticulated python ( Python reticulatus ) , measure out 25.1 feet ( 7.67 yard ) at her menage in Kansas City , Missouri , Guinness World Records cover . [ In Images : Hungry Python Eats Porcupine Whole ]

the great unwashed spotted the enormous snake at an flyover construction site in Paya Terubong , a territory on the island of Penang , the Guardian report . Construction worker immediately called parking brake services on Thursday ( April 7 ) ; authorities worked for 30 instant to capture the rough 550 - lb . ( 250 kilograms ) wildcat , the Guardian reported .

Reticulated pythons , which are aboriginal to Southeast Asia , are the longest snakes in the populace , said Stephen Secor , a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alabama , who was n’t regard with the Malaysian Hydra ’s capture . These snakes are indeterminate agriculturist , mean they continue arise indefinitely , although they typically develop at a slower charge per unit in old age , he pronounce .

Person holding a snakes head while using a pointed plastic object to reveal a fang.

Reticulated pythonsare also slim , so they ’re not the heaviest Hydra , and Secor doubt that the 550 - lb . measurement is precise . Ananacondamight press that much , but not a reticulated python , he said .

For example , even though Medusa was just 1.1 invertebrate foot ( 0.33 m ) shorter than the unexampled record bearer , she librate 350 lbs . ( about 159 kg ) in 2011 , or a whopping 200 lbs . ( 90 kilo ) less than the newly caught snake . Those numeral do n’t add up , specially because Medusa is a captive snake and does n’t have to actively hunt for solid food in the state of nature , so she ’s probably dense than most reticulated python , Secor said .

deep death

a royal python curled around a branch in the jungle

Secor is also scheme because the Hydra died after laying an egg on Sunday ( April 10).A snake that largecould easily lie 75 eggs at one prison term , he said . Perhaps the snake in the grass was laying eggs , and one egg got lodged inside its body when the animal was captured . Snakes have two oviducts ( structure that draw eggs ) , but a lodged egg can block the other eggs that have yet to be laid . The blockage can do medical problems , and sometimes even death , he said . But not always — lodge ball can also be reabsorbed into the trunk , Secor said . [ 7 Shocking Snake Stories ]

Or , maybe the pythonwas just starting to lay eggswhen it died . A necropsy ( an animal autopsy ) would pull in up matters , as a pathologist or other physician would be able to see whether more eggs were left inside the snake , he say .

or else , the snake in the grass could have died because it was traumatized from its capture , Secor said . " I do n’t jazz why the snake died , " he said . " It probably did n’t die because it laid an ballock . "

Man stands holding a massive rat.

Although the snake is dead , the specimen could still be used to train the public . For instance , a stuffer could preserve the serpent , or its skin could be put on exhibit at a museum , Secor said .

Python skin are often save , but this make it operose to officially measure them afterward , as skins can be stretched . It ’s also intemperate to measure pythons because of all the twirl , or bends , in their body . Even so , larger snakes may exist in the wild ; in 1912 , people reported that a 32 - animal foot - long ( 10 m ) python was key in Indonesia , the Guardian say .

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