Snakes with exquisitely patterned bodies, ravenous strikes with rapid acceleration, and even the ability to "jump" are an impressive group of reptiles, some of which deserve attention if only because of their enormous size.
So what is the size of the largest snakes in the world? What are the largest extinct snakes in history?
Measuring size can be difficult — especially when it comes to long-dead species. Historical records can be difficult to verify, and snake skins can stretch without much visible distortion, leading to overestimation, said Patrick Campbell, senior curator of the reptile collection at the Natural History Museum in London.
However, he said that "there are quite a few documented records" of giant snakes from around the world. Below is a sample of these huge snakes.
Here is a descending list of the largest, heaviest and longest snakes in the world, from the smallest of the giant snakes to the largest of them all - a giant the size of a Tyrannosaurus rex.
Central African rock python (up to 16.5 feet long)
The Central African rock python (Python sebae) is the largest snake in Africa, according to the Oregon Zoo. It is highly adaptable and is found throughout sub-Saharan Africa, where it is equally native to savanna, woodland and desert habitats.
The average length of these snakes is from 9.8 to 16.5 feet (3 to 5 meters), according to the Animal Diversity website (ADW).
Like Burmese pythons, Central African rock pythons can devour large prey including antelopes and crocodiles. Occasionally, even humans are on the list: there are many accounts of African rock vipers attacking people and even partially consuming them.
These snakes can swallow such large prey thanks to a set of highly flexible jaws, a trait they share with many other snake species.
- King Cobra (18.7 feet)
The king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) poses a threat — and not just because its bite is powerful enough to kill an elephant. Native to Asia, it can grow more than 16 feet (5 meters) tall, according to the Smithsonian National Institute of Animal and Conservation Biology. The longest king cobra ever recorded was a captive python measuring 18.7 feet (5.71 meters) long at London Zoo in the late 1930s, according to Guinness World Records. He was killed at the outbreak of World War II to prevent his escape to the city if the zoo was bombed.
Venomous snakes usually do not grow into giants. Their ability to immobilize their prey with a single bite means they don't usually need to rely on size or strength to feed, Campbell said. However, the king cobra is "the exception to the rule", he said, making it the longest venomous snake on earth.
Burmese python (18.8 feet)
Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus) are one of 41 species of snakes worldwide. Burmese pythons are native to Southeast Asia and begin life in trees, but by adulthood, their size forces them to descend to the ground. The largest Burmese python on record was a captive python named Baby, which measured 18.8 feet (5.74 metres) in length, according to Guinness World Records.
In the wild, these snakes regularly extend to more than 16 feet (4.9 m) long - large enough to hunt alligators.
The largest Burmese python ever was discovered in Florida - where it is considered an invasive species - in 2022. It weighed 215 pounds (97.5 kg) and was 17.7 feet (5.4 m) long.
Cuban Viper (up to 19.6 feet)
These iridescent vipers, endemic to Cuba, are the largest snakes in the Caribbean, according to the Lake District Wildlife Park.
They weigh more than 66 pounds (30 kilograms) and reach a length of 18.5 feet (5.65 meters), according to the researchers who published about them in the Journal of Reptiles and Amphibians — some reports claim they can grow to more than 19.6 feet (6 m).
Indian python (up to 21 feet)
These snakes can grow to 20.9 feet (6.4 m) long and weigh nearly 220 pounds (100 kg), according to the ADW.
Their habitat lies in the forests of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal, and they are close relatives of Burmese snakes, and as with Burmese snakes, their faces contain structures called "heat pits" that are equipped with a sensitive membrane that can detect infrared radiation emitted from warmth - animals with bodies as high as to 3.2 feet (1 meter), according to a 2010 study in the journal Nature. This adaptation helps the camouflaged, nocturnal hunting reptiles direct their prey.
- Reticulated python (32.8 feet)
The reticulated python (Malayopython reticulatus) - adorned with the pattern of repeating diamond shapes that gave it its name - is widely recognized as the longest snake on Earth today. One account from 1912 claims a captured python was 32.8 feet (10 meters) long, although this figure is difficult to verify.
According to the UK's Natural History Museum, reticulated pythons regularly reach over 20.5 feet (6.25 metres). The longest reticulated python in captivity is 25.2 feet (7.7 meters) long, according to Guinness World Records.
Its size, along with its temperamental nature, has sometimes proven fatal to humans: in one incident in 2018, a woman in Indonesia was discovered, fully clothed, in the swollen stomach of a snake.
Green Anaconda (up to 33 feet long)
The green anaconda (Eunectes murinus) slinks silently through the swamps and streams of the Amazon, where it may live long enough to reach 30 feet (9 meters).
With historical records in mind, they are likely not as long as reticulated pythons. However, the green anaconda is the heaviest species of snake on Earth today, with some weighing up to 550 pounds (250 kg), according to the Smithsonian National Institute of Animal and Conservation Biology. Giant snakes use this massive size to choke down their prey of capybaras, caimans, and deer.
There is no official record of the largest green anaconda, but in 2016 construction workers in Brazil came across a snake estimated to be 33 feet (10 meters) long and 880 pounds (399 kg).
- Gigantophis Garstini (up to 32 feet)
While modern-day snakes can reach incredible sizes, prehistoric snakes beat most of these current records. Gigantophis garstini, for example, was a massive beast that slid about 40 million years ago on an object that researchers estimate was 23 to 32 feet (7-10 meters) long, according to PLOS blog.
It was discovered in Egypt in 1901, and was able to wrap its wide anatomy around prey like the early ancestors of the elephant and eat it whole.
The researchers discovered that Gigantophis was related to another extinct giant species called Madtsoia whose fossils were discovered in India, indicating that the giant snakes' reign of terror extended across parts of Asia as well. And for nearly 100 years after its discovery, Gigantophis garstini held the title of the world's largest snake - until larger specimens slipped into the picture.
- Palaeophis colossaeus (39 feet)
Giant snakes weren't confined to land: Earth's prehistoric seas also contained Palaeophis colossaeus. This sea snake crossed an ancient ocean that once lay over parts of North Africa 100 million years ago. And when its fossilized skeleton was discovered in the present-day desert, researchers calculated from specimens collected later during field trips in 1999 and 2003 that this species could reach more than 39 feet (12 meters), according to research published in the journal Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. This makes it the longest sea snake ever found - and one of the longest snakes ever known.
The snake's head was never discovered, but from its skeleton, researchers determined that this giant creature's mouth was large enough to consume small whales whole.
- Titanoboa cerrejonensis (42.7 feet)
It weighs 1.25 tons (1.13 metric tons) and is not a fictional beast but a real creature that has spread across the humid forests and rivers of South America. Titanoboa was the largest snake ever known.
This snake dates back 60 million years and was the prehistoric ancestor of the anaconda and boa in the modern region. Its 250 vertebrae formed a massive 42.7-foot (13-meter) frame that fed a diet of crocodiles and river fish. It was estimated that he weighed 2,500 pounds (1,130 kg), according to Indiana University.
Its fossilized remains were discovered in the early 2000s, in the rocks of the Ceregon Formation, a geological landscape in Colombia. Since then, his record weight and height have remained unmatched - but other giants may still be lurking out there.
"I wouldn't close the door on the possibility of another snake as large or larger than Titanoboa. We haven't found it yet," Campbell said.
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