New At The Museum: Identify The Species
Posted by: Loren Coleman on May 27th, 2011
New items turn up at the International Cryptozoology Museum all the time.
For Memorial Day weekend, let’s make our latest addition into a quiz.
What species is the source of the newest artifact added to the museum?
Two clues:
1) It is 12 (twelve) feet long.
2) Here is a closeup image of one section of its skin:
Send along your best guess.
About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
Python, I’ll guess Burmese.
That is an African Rock Python, Python sebae. They get about 20 ft long. Beautiful snakes
Alright, I’ll bite… given the limited scope of the picture, I’m going to guess giant anaconda.
Did I win the new car?
African Rock Python (Python sebae)
Looks like my guitar strap. Python?
Burmese Python
Is it a bull snake?
Burmese Python?
Is it Python reticulatus, the reticulated python?
The snake is a Burmese Python
Burmese Python.
Ooops…. my apologies, jumped the gun too quick there. The correct answer is African Rock Python.
Reticulated Python?
I’m fairly certain that that is from a common boa constrictor. I used to own one as a pet and I am pretty positive that is what this is. Please let me know if I’m right.
Oh right, species. boa constrictor. Yeah, the taxonomists were not having their most creative day when they named this one. 😉
Looks like a reticulated python.
Looks like a Burmese Python to me. Python molurus bivittatus
Boa Constrictor?
The Tsuchinoko?? Hah have a good weekend!
But is the skin of a South African python (also called a Natal rock python; Python sebae natalensis) or the African rock python (Python sebae sebae)?
The Natal rock python may be the “Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake” of Kipling’s Just So Stories.
It is intriguing that the African rock python’s type locality given is “America” — an obvious mistake. According to Loveridge (1936), no type locality was given. According to Stimson (1969), it was “Guiara, Brazil.”
Feral specimens of Python sebae natalensis have been identified in North America in Presque Isle/Erie, Pennsylvania, in August 1901 and the Florida Everglades in the 1990s.
See Chad Arment’s Boss Snakes for other possible appearances.
Hey! Those are my pants!
Very obviously a coyote with mange.