World's Longest Python Dies in Malaysia

A massive python believed to be the longest ever recorded has died just days after being placed in captivity, government officials reported Monday.

It was due to be transferred to the government's Department of Wildlife before it died.

The reticulated python, estimated to be 26 ft long, was found on a construction site on Penang island last Thursday.

Workers called emergency services and it took them 30 minutes to trap the snake.

The Guinness Book of World Records currently names the world’s longest snake to be kept in captivity as Medusa, also a reticulated python, at 25ft 2 inches long.

Native to South East Asia, reticulated pythons have for years been registered as the planet's longest snakes in the. However, its cousin the anaconda, which is native to South America, remains the heaviest species of snake.