By total length, the longest reptile on record is a reticulated python measured at 7.92 m. The longest crocodilian is a Nile crocodile at 6.45 m, and a tie at the bottom puts 11 species on this top 10.
The Reticulated Python (Malayopython reticulatus) is the longest reptile on record, with a captive specimen measured at 7.92 m in 2002. The Central African rock python is second at 6.5 m and the Nile crocodile third at 6.45 m, the longest crocodilian. The ranking uses the longest recorded total length per species, from Wikipedia's lists of largest reptiles and snakes, as of October 2026.
The saltwater crocodile is the heaviest living reptile, but it is not the longest. Measured from nose to tail tip, the longest reptiles on record are giant snakes, with big crocodiles close behind. Above about 6 metres, most claimed lengths have never been reliably measured. This list ranks living reptile species by the longest individual on record, using Wikipedia's lists of the largest reptiles and snakes. Lengths that those lists, or the species' own Wikipedia articles, call unverified, alleged or estimated are left out. All figures are total lengths.
The longest reptile on record is Samantha, a captive reticulated python measured at 7.92 m in 2002. The snake list rates the figure somewhat reliable. Medusa, the Guinness-recognised captive, measured 7.67 m, and the longest wild specimen the list rates fully reliable was 6.95 m.
The Central African rock python has a reliably recorded maximum of 6.5 m. A 7.5 m report is not firmly verified.
The largest Nile crocodile accurately measured was a male shot near Mwanza, Tanzania. It was 6.45 m long and weighed about 1,043-1,089 kg, which makes it the longest crocodilian on this list.
The longest green anaconda the snake list rates reliable measured 6.32 m. Lengths of 8.8 m or more are not firmly verified. It ties with the saltwater crocodile and is listed first alphabetically.
The largest confirmed saltwater crocodile was 6.32 m long and weighed about 1,360 kg. Lolong, caught alive in the Philippines in 2011, measured 6.17 m. A 7 m crocodile in Bhitarkanika, India, was accepted by Guinness in 2006 but has never been verified by tape measurement.
The heaviest recorded gharial was a male 6.25 m long that weighed 977 kg. A 6.55 m gharial said to have been killed in 1920 is excluded, because the species' own Wikipedia article says no reliable measurements were taken.
The Southern African rock python has a reliably recorded maximum of 5.8 m. Specimens longer than 4.6 m are rare.
A wild female caught in Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida, in July 2023 was officially measured at 5.79 m. It is the longest Burmese python on record.
The longest venomous snake has been recorded at up to 5.7 m in captivity. Its own Wikipedia article gives conflicting record lengths of 5.85 m and 5.59 m.
Australia's longest snake has a reliably recorded maximum of 5.65 m. It is tied for tenth with the Cuban boa.
The largest Cuban boa specimen on record measured 5.65 m, which ties it for tenth with the Australian scrub python.
| # | Name | Type | Range | Record specimen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reticulated Python (Malayopython reticulatus) | Snake | South and Southeast Asia | Samantha, captive, 2002 |
| 2 | Central African Rock Python (Python sebae) | Snake | Central and West Africa | 6.5 m (rated reliable) |
| 3 | Nile Crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) | Crocodilian | Sub-Saharan Africa | Mwanza, Tanzania (shot) |
| 4 | Green Anaconda (Eunectes murinus) | Snake | Northern South America | 6.32 m (rated reliable) |
| 5 | Saltwater Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) | Crocodilian | India and Southeast Asia to northern Australia | 6.32 m, about 1,360 kg (confirmed) |
| 6 | Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) | Crocodilian | Northern Indian subcontinent | 6.25 m male, 977 kg |
| 7 | Southern African Rock Python (Python natalensis) | Snake | Southern Africa | 5.8 m (rated reliable) |
| 8 | Burmese Python (Python bivittatus) | Snake | Southeast Asia (invasive in Florida) | Florida, 2023 (wild) |
| 9 | King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) | Snake | South and Southeast Asia | 5.7 m (captive) |
| 10 | Australian Scrub Python (Simalia kinghorni) | Snake | Queensland, Australia | 5.65 m (rated reliable) |
| 11 | Cuban Boa (Chilabothrus angulifer) | Snake | Cuba | 5.65 m (largest specimen) |
Species are ranked by the longest total length recorded for an individual. Crocodilians and other non-snakes come from Wikipedia's List of largest reptiles (revision of 8 October 2026). Snakes come from the page it refers to, Wikipedia's List of largest snakes (revision of 14 October 2026), using the same figures as this site's longest-snakes list. Excluded are figures either list flags as doubtful (not firmly verified, unverified, not yet verified, estimated or projected), the round 'maximum length' values in the reptile table, which name no specimen, and specimen claims the species' own Wikipedia article calls unreliable. That last rule drops the 6.78 m Orinoco crocodile shot in 1800 (an alleged length, with no specimen surviving), the 6.55 m gharial killed in 1920 (no reliable measurements were taken) and the 7 m Bhitarkanika saltwater crocodile (not verified). Ties: the green anaconda and saltwater crocodile share 6.32 m. The Australian scrub python and Cuban boa share 5.65 m at tenth place, so both are kept and the list has 11 entries. Next is the mugger crocodile, whose maximum reported length is 5.63 m. Rank 1 is the longest.
The reticulated python. Its longest recorded length is 7.92 m, for Samantha, a captive python measured in 2002. The longest crocodilian on record is a Nile crocodile accurately measured at 6.45 m.
The saltwater crocodile. Wikipedia's List of largest reptiles gives a verified length of up to 6.32 m and a mass of around 1,000-1,500 kg for it.
They are far shorter than the giant snakes and crocodilians. The Komodo dragon's maximum recorded length is 3.13 m, and the leatherback sea turtle's maximum total length is about 3 m.
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