Morelia (snake)

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Morelia
Python Australia Zoo.JPG
Morelia spilota
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Pythonidae
Subfamily: Pythoninae
Genus: Morelia
Gray, 1842
Synonyms

Morelia is a genus of large snakes in the family Pythonidae. The genus is native to Australia, Indonesia, and New Guinea. As of 2024, up to eight species are recognized. [3]

Contents

Snakes in the genus Morelia are generally arboreal to semiarboreal, spending much of their lives in the forest canopy. Although exceptions occur, most may attain an adult total length (including tail) of 2–3 m (6.6–9.8 ft).

Geographic range

Morelia species are found from Indonesia in the Maluku Islands, east through New Guinea, including the Bismarck Archipelago, and in Australia. [1]

Species

The following seven species are recognized as being valid. [4]

Species [3] IUCN Status [5] Taxon author [3] Subsp.* [3] Common nameGeographic range [1]
M. azurea (Meyer, 1874)2Green tree python; northern green tree pythonPapua New Guinea (Biak, Numfor and Supiori in the Schouten Islands group of Cenderawasih Bay)
M. bredli

Morelia bredli3 - Christopher Watson.jpg

(Gow, 1981)0Bredl's python; Centralian pythonAustralia, in the mountains of the southern Northern Territory
M. carinata

Morelia-Carinata.jpg

(L.A. Smith, 1981)0Rough-scaled pythonAustralia, northwestern Western Australia in the lower sections of the Mitchell and Hunter Rivers, just inland from the coast
M. imbricata
 Morelia spilota imbricata 4.jpg 
(L.A. Smith, 1981)0Southwestern carpet pythonNew Guinea, Australia (New South Wales, the Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia)
M. spilota T

Morelia spilota variegata.jpg

LC [6]
LR/nt [7]
(Lacépède, 1804)5Carpet python; diamond pythonIndonesia (southern Western New Guinea in Merauke Regency), Papua New Guinea (the southern Western Province, the Port Moresby area of Central Province and on Yule Island) and Australia (excluding much of the center and northwest of the country)
M. viridis Morelia-viridis edit1.jpg LC [8] (Schlegel, 1872)0Green tree python; southern green tree pythonIndo/Papuan: Indonesia (Misool, Salawati, the Aru Islands, the Schouten Islands, most of Western New Guinea), Papua New Guinea (including nearby islands from sea level to 1,800 m elevation, Normanby Island and the d'Entrecasteaux Islands)

Australian: Queensland along the eastern coast of the Cape York Peninsula

M. riversleighensis(M.J. Smith & Plane, 1985)0n/aExtinct, remains found in Queensland, Australia

T) Type species. [1]

Hybrids

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<i>Morelia spilota</i> Species of snake

Morelia spilota, commonly known as the carpet python, is a large snake of the family Pythonidae found in Australia, New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago, and the northern Solomon Islands. Many subspecies are recognised; ITIS lists six, the Reptile Database six, and the IUCN eight.

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<i>Simalia boeleni</i> Species of snake

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<i>Morelia bredli</i> Species of snake

Morelia bredli is a species of non-venomous snake in the family Pythonidae. The species is endemic to Australia. No subspecies are recognized. Its common names include Bredl's python, the Centralian python, the Centralian carpet python, the central Australian carpet python, Bredl's carpet python, the central Australian Bredl's carpet python, and the central Bredl's carpet python.

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<i>Morelia imbricata</i> Species of snake

Morelia imbricata is a large snake found in southern regions of Western Australia and western South Australia. A member of the python family, it is commonly known as the southwestern carpet python.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré TA (1999). Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, vol. 1. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN   1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN   1-893777-01-4 (volume).
  2. Scanlon, J.D. (2001). "Montypythonoides revisited: the Miocene snake Morelia riversleighensis (Smith and Plane, 1985) and the question of pythonine origins". In Hand, S.J.; Laurie, J.R. (eds.). Riversleigh Symposium 1998: Proceedings of a Research Symposium on Fossils from Riversleigh and Murgon, Queensland, held at the University of New South Wales, December, 1998. Memoirs of the Association of Australasian Palaeontologists 25. pp. 1–35.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Morelia". Integrated Taxonomic Information System . Retrieved 10 September 2007.
  4. Morelia at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database . Accessed 1 January 2020.
  5. International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. "IUCN Red List of Threatened Species".
  6. Tallowin, O.; Parker, F.; O'Shea, M.; Vanderduys, E.; Wilson, S.; Shea, G.; Hobson, R. (2017). "Morelia spilota". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2017: e.T62232A21649539. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T62232A21649539.en . Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  7. Australasian Reptile.; Amphibian Specialist Group (1996). "Morelia spilota ssp. imbricata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 1996: e.T13868A4359599. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T13868A4359599.en . Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  8. Auliya, M.; Shine R.A.; Allison, A. (2010). "Morelia viridis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2010: e.T177524A7449431. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T177524A7449431.en . Retrieved 15 January 2018.

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