At least one reticulated python was measured under full anesthesia at 6.95 m (22.8 ft), and somewhat less reliable scientific reports up to 10 m (33 ft) have appeared. It has been suggested that confident length records for the largest snakes must be established from a dead body soon after death, or alternatively from a heavily sedated snake, using a steel tape and in the presence of witnesses, and must be published (and preferably recorded on video).

Īlthough it is generally accepted that the reticulated python is the world's longest snake, most length estimates longer than 6 m (20 ft) have been called into question. President Theodore Roosevelt in the early 1900s, later raised to $5,000, then $15,000 in 1978 and $50,000 in 1980) for a live, healthy snake over 30 ft (9.14 m) long by the New York Zoological Society (later renamed as the Wildlife Conservation Society), no attempt to claim the reward has ever been made. In spite of what has been, for many years, a standing offer of a large financial reward (initially $1,000 offered by U.S. In general, the reported lengths are likely to be somewhat overestimated. It is important to be aware that there is considerable variation in the maximum reported size of these species, and most measurements are not truly verifiable, so the sizes listed should not be considered definitive. By weight, the blood python ( Python brongersmai) is also a relatively massive snake, although it does not reach exceptional lengths. The Oenpelli python, in particular, has been called the rarest python in the world. The information available about these two species is rather limited. There are two other species that reach nearly this length – the Oenpelli python (binomial name Nyctophilopython oenpelliensis, Simalia oenpelliensis or Morelia oenpelliensis), and the olive python ( Liasis olivaceus). This includes all species that reach a length of at least 20 ft (6.1 m). There are fourteen living snake species with a maximum mass of at least 50 lb (23 kg), as shown in the table below.

The longest venomous snake, with a length up to 18.5–18.8 ft (5.6–5.7 m), is the king cobra, and the heaviest venomous snake is likely to be the Gaboon viper (which also has the longest fangs and delivers the largest amount of venom) or possibly the Eastern diamondback rattlesnake – all three of these reach maximum weights in the range of 6–20 kg (13–44 lb). They include anacondas, pythons and boa constrictors, which are all non-venomousĬonstrictors. The largest living snakes in the world, measured either by length or by weight, are various members of the Boidae and Pythonidae families.

Largest anaconda snake ever found