(CNN) -- Things that are about 18 feet long (sure it's random, just go with it). There's the Ford F-150 pickup truck. There's the 18-foot skiff, a kind of zippy racing boat. Then there's the disturbing, frightening, shudder-inducing Burmese python that a Florida water-quality maintenance crew ran across this week. Yes, an 18-foot snake. Well, 17.82 feet to be exact. And 150 pounds. Workers with the South Florida Water Management District often run across the invasive snakes as part of their daily routine inspecting and maintaining canals, pump stations and the like, said agency spokesman Randy Smith. But this one was something even for the grizzled crew of snake runner-acrossers.
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Florida work crew finds 18-foot Burmese python
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Snake was about 8 inches shorter than longest ever captured
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A state worker killed the snake, one of thousands plaguing South Florida
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The snakes feed on native species and destroy ecosystems, researchers say
Before that, the largest python captured in @placeholder measured 17 feet, 7 inches.