Morelia (snake)

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Morelia
Python Australia Zoo.JPG
Morelia spilota
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Pythonidae
Subfamily: Pythoninae
Genus: Morelia
J. E. Gray, 1842
Synonyms
  • MoreliaGray, 1842
  • SimaliaGray, 1849
  • ChondropythonMeyer, 1874
  • AspidopythonMeyer, 1874
  • Hypaspistes Ogilby, 1919
  • AustraliasisWells & Wellington, 1984
  • NyctophylopythonWells & Wellington, 1984 [1]
  • MontypythonoidesM.J. Smith and Plane, 1985 [2]

Morelia is a genus of large snakes in the family Pythonidae found in Indonesia, New Guinea, and throughout Australia. Currently, up to eight species are recognized. [3]

Contents

These snakes are generally arboreal to semiarboreal, spending much of their lives in the forest canopy. Although exceptions occur, most attain adult lengths of 2–3 m (6.6–9.8 ft).

Geographic range

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

Species

Seven species are recognized: [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†(Smith and Plane, 1985)0n/aExtinct, remains found in Queensland, Australia

T) Type species. [1]

Hybrids

Related Research Articles

<i>Acrochordus</i> Family of reptiles

The Acrochordidae, commonly known as wart snakes, Java wart snakes, file snakes, elephant trunk snakes, or dogface snakes are a monogeneric family created for the genus Acrochordus. This is a group of basal aquatic snakes found in Australia and tropical Asia. Currently, three species are recognized.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green tree python</span> Species of snake

The green tree python is a species of snake in the family Pythonidae. The species is native to New Guinea, some islands in Indonesia, and the Cape York Peninsula in Australia. First described by Hermann Schlegel in 1872, it was known for many years as Chondropython viridis. As its common name suggests, it is a bright green snake that can reach a total length of 2 m (6.6 ft) and a weight of 1.6 kg (3.5 lb), with females slightly larger and heavier than males. Living generally in trees, the green tree python mainly hunts and eats small reptiles and mammals. It is a popular pet, and numbers in the wild have suffered with large-scale smuggling of wild-caught green tree pythons in Indonesia. Despite this, the green tree python is rated as least concern on the IUCN Red List of endangered species.

<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.

<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.

<i>Simalia</i> Genus of snakes

Simalia is a genus of snakes in the family Pythonidae.

<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.

<i>Acutotyphlops solomonis</i> Species of snake

Acutotyphlops solomonis is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. It is found in the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea.

The small-headed blind snake is a species of snake in the Typhlopidae family.

The Centralian blind snake is a species of snake in the Typhlopidae family.

The northern New Guinea blind snake is a species of snake in the Typhlopidae family.

The yellow-bellied blind snake is a species of snake in the Typhlopidae family.

The white-tailed blind snake is a species of snake in the Typhlopidae family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robust blind snake</span> Species of snake

The robust blind snake is a species of snake in the Typhlopidae family.

The small-eyed blind snake is a species of snake in the Typhlopidae family.

The hook-nosed blind snake is a species of snake in the Typhlopidae family.

The rotund blind snake is a species of snake in the Typhlopidae family.

The Manukwari blind snake is a species of snake in the Typhlopidae family.

The Salawati blind snake is a species of snake in the Typhlopidae family.

The Sandamara blind snake is a species of snake in the Typhlopidae family.

The Yampi blind snake is a species of snake in the Typhlopidae family.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. (1999). Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, vol. 1. 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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