This view emphasises the formidable dentition of Python, with needle sharp, posteriorly recurved teeth that prevent the escape of prey once it has been seized. The maxilla is long and low with little development of its dorsal (facial) process. It has only a soft tissue connection to the anterior premaxilla, has no contact with the nasal, and has a mobile joint with the prefrontal. Posteriorly it forms the lower margin of the small orbit and is then overlapped by the lateral flange of the ectopterygoid. There is no jugal. The remaining margins of the orbit are provided by the prefrontal (anteriorly), supraorbital (dorsally) and postorbital (posteriorly). There is no lacrimal. This view also shows clearly the deep interorbital septum (mostly frontals, with the parasphenoid rostrum ventrally), and the deep walls of the braincase (parietal anteriorly, braincase elements posteriorly). The large foramen that appears to lie between the parietal and postorbital in this view, is actually between the parietal and frontal (see the yaw rotation); it is the foramen through which the optic nerve (cranial nerve [CN] 2) enters the rear of the orbit. At the back of the skull, the supratemporal extends out horizontally, supporting the dorsal head (cephalic condyle) of the quadrate. The posterolateral extension of the supratemporal places the quadrate/articular joint well behind that of the craniovertebral (basioccipital/atlas) joint, further increasing gape potential. In this scan, the quadrate is in a neutral position, but its joints with the supratemporal, pterygoid, and lower jaw are highly mobile (streptostyly).

The lower jaw has two major components, the anterior tooth-bearing dentary (the foramen is for a branch of the mandibular nerve and blood vessels) and a compound posterior bone incorporating the articular and surangular. Ventromedially (see the ventral view, and the roll rotation) there is a thin biradiate splenial (long anteroventral process, short anterodorsal process). This has a vertical abutting contact posteriorly with a small angular, while dorsomedially (and seen here emerging just in front of the dorsal lamina of the compound bone) there is a coronoid. Like other snakes, Python has an intramandibular hinge between the dentary and splenial anteriorly, and the angular, coronoid and compound bone posteriorly (Rieppel and Zaher, 2000). The supporting rings of the trachea are clearly visible behind and below the jaw, flanked by the slender elongate hyoid ceratobranchials.

The snake braincase is specialised. The anterior part of the prootic is perforated by two foramina, one in front and slightly dorsal to the other (ignoring the very small anteroventral openings), and separated by a narrow strut. The strut is the laterosphenoid ossification (Rieppel, 1993) and separates the anterior foramen for the maxillary branch of the trigeminal nerve (CN5) from the more posterior foramen for the mandibular branch of the same nerve. According to Rieppel (1979), the facial nerve divides within the prootic with the anterior (palatine) and posterior (hyomandibular) rami emerging separately. The hyomandibular ramus is said to emerge through the lower margin of the foramen for the mandibular nerve (Rieppel, 1979: fig. 6A), while the palatine ramus emerges into the fossa into which the vidian canal opens posteriorly. Neither of these foramina is visible in lateral view, but traces can be seen in the slices. Further posteriorly, the long stylus of the stapes is seen extending from the fenestra vestibuli (=F. ovalis: where the footplate is positioned), to meet a process on the quadrate. The strong crest along the edges of the fenestra vestibulae (partly concealing the footplate) is the crista circumfenestralis. This gives attachment to a structure called the juxtastapedial sinus (Baird 1970, p.226), an extension of the periotic sac. There is no tympanic membrane in snakes and most hearing occurs through bone conduction.