Ken Palmer, age 9 of Victoria, B.C., for the question:

How did the reticulated python get his name?

This fellow holds the title Longest Snake in the World. He is a boa constrictor whose native home is in the Malay region of Asia. He may be 32 feet long, or even longer. He feeds by crushing his victims in his powerful coils and then swallowing them whole.

He got the name reticulated python for the same reason the American diamond‑backed rattler dot iris from the markings on his skin. The diamond‑backed rattlesnake has a neat design of diamond figures down the entire length of his spine. The word reticule means a little net and the word reticulate means covered with a network. The design on the reticulated python is a network of fine lines.