Diskussion:Colossus (Netzpython)

Colossus im Zoo Pittsburgh

Letzter Kommentar: vor 13 Jahren3 Kommentare3 Personen sind an der Diskussion beteiligt

Da ich in der Literatur widersprüchliche Angaben zu Maximallänge und Gewicht von "Colossus" gefunden habe, hatte ich den Zoo Pittsburgh mit der Bitte um Klärung angeschrieben. Die Antwort vom 21.7.07 habe ich hierhin kopiert, die Daten wurden im Artikel entsprechend korrigiert.

Henry Kacprzyk, Pgh. Zoo asked me to answer your email concerning Colossus. My name is Herb Ellerbrock, I have worked at the zoo here for forty-five years. I will start to answer your questions:

1. It is stated, that in your zoo lived "Colossus," a P. reticulatus. This snake is said to be the longest P. reticulatus ever held in captivity. How long (total length) was Colossus when she died? (it should have been a female?) Answer: Colossus was a female. 29 1/2 ft. long and 38 1/2 inches in girth.

2. What was her weight? Answer: 379 lbs.

3. Where did she come from, how long did she live in your zoo and when did she die? Answer: She was a wild caught snake from Malaysia. Arrived August 1949 22 ft. long. Died April 1963 at 29 1/2 ft. (She lived at our zoo for fourteen yrs.)

4. Is any "official" information available in the internet, concerning Colossus?

Answer: One that I know of and it does not have the correct information. I found this site: ADW: Python reticulatus: Information... maintained in captivity was at the Pittsburgh Zoo; a 28.5 ft 320 lbs female named Colossus. .... "Python reticulatus" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. [animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Python_reticulatus.html - 31k - Cached - Similar pages] Also, the book "Giant Snakes" by Pope has information about Colossus.

I am happy to say that I was one of a few that handled her when I first started working at the zoo. I would like to read your finished article. Yours truly,

Herb Ellerbrock, Rept./Komodo Dragon Keeper

Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium

One Wild Place

Pittsburgh, PA 15206'

-Accipiter 12:49, 21. Jul. 2007 (CEST)Beantworten

Nachdem auch bei der längsten Schlange runde Fuß- und Zollwerte auftauchen, bin ich fast der Meinung, dass die Schlangen gemessen und dann die Werte auf runde Größen aufgerundet wurden. Bedenkt man auch die Schwierigkeiten, die das Messen einer neun bis zehn Meter langen Schlange mit sich bringt, halte ich die exakt umgerechneten metrischen Werte für irreführend. Sie suggerieren eine Exaktheit der Messung, die es nicht geben kann bei solchen Schlangen. Werte von 6,71 m, 8,99 m und 9,99 m (bei der länsten Schlange überhaupt) wären besser mit etwa 6,70 m, etwa 9 m und etwa 10 m wiederzugeben. Nachtrag meiner Signatur--Venezianer 15:58, 26. Nov. 2011 (CET)Beantworten

Nach dem Ableben von Colossus konnte man bestimmt eine exakte Vermessung vornehmen. Daher soll sie meiner Meinung nach auch so im Artikel wiedergegeben werden. Beim umstrittenen, angebilich 9.99 Meter langen Exemplar herrscht aber tatsächlich eine viel verworrenere Situation und es kann leider nur darüber spekuliert werden. Die Herpetologen J. Murphy und R. Henderson haben hierzu in ihrem Werk Tales of Giant Snakes: A Historical Natural History of Anacondas and Pythons, 1997, S. 49 folgendes geschrieben:

Raven (1946:38-39) believed that the reticulated python was the largest snake and related the following story from an unidentified locality in Sulawesi (formerly Celebes). This story appears to be the basis for all, or most, references to 33-foot reticulated pythons. Raven and Raymond Ditmar were friends and Oliver (19S8: 28-29) makes a case for Ditmars' support of the maximum length of P. reticulata as 33 feet, because of the following story. Hard evidence and critical details, however, appear to be lacking. Yet it appears that the Guinness Book of World Records 1991 has accepted this record (McFarlan, 1991:84) as the world's largest snake. The Book of World Records's date of 1912, and the reference to a mining camp in the Celebes, all match this story, but the length of the snake is given as 32 feet 9.5 inches instead of the 33 feet quoted below (Raven, 1946:39), and is most likely the result of converting 10 m to feet.

... men at the mine told me of a huge python one of their natives had killed a few days before my arrival, and showed me a very poor photograph of it taken after it had been killed and dragged to camp. The civil engineer told me it was. just ten meters (33 feet) long. asked him if he had paced off its length, but he said no, he had measured it with a surveying tape.

Gruss, --Pimbura 00:40, 27. Nov. 2011 (CET)Beantworten