The biggest snake in the world (and 10 other giant serpents)

With exquisitely patterned bodies, predatory strikes that accelerate faster than a fighter jet, and even a capacity for "flight," snakes are a fascinating group of reptiles. Some deserve attention for one feature in particular: their enormous size. 

From boa constrictors to reticulated pythons, we share the planet with some incredible serpentine heavyweights. These predators are found across the globe, including southeast Asia, South America and the United States. But how big are the biggest snakes in the world? And what are the biggest extinct snakes in history?

Size can be tricky to measure accurately — particularly when it comes to long-dead species. Historic records can be difficult to verify, and snake skins can be stretched without much visible distortion, leading to overestimates, Patrick Campbell, senior curator of the reptiles collection at the Natural History Museum in London, told Live Science. 

However, he said that “there are a few authenticated records” of giant snakes from around the world. Below is a sampling of these supersized serpents.

Here's a descending list of the world's biggest, heaviest and longest snakes, from the smallest of the serpent giants through to the largest to have ever existed — a behemoth the size of a Tyrannosaurus rex. 

11. Central African rock python (up to 16.5 feet)

The Central African rock python (Python sebae) is Africa’s largest snake, according to Oregon Zoo. It’s highly adaptable and found throughout sub-Saharan Africa, where it is equally at home in savannah, forest and desert habitats. These pythons average around 9.8 to 16.5 feet (3 to 5 m) long, according to Animal Diversity Web (ADW).

Like Burmese pythons, Central African rock pythons can gulp down sizable prey including antelope and crocodiles. Occasionally, even humans are on the menu: there are several accounts of African rock pythons attacking and even partially consuming people. These snakes can swallow such large prey thanks to a set of highly flexible jaws, a trait they share with several other snake species. “Because they’re able to disassociate the upper and lower jaws when about to devour prey, they can often take in things which are much larger than their head sizes,” Campbell said.