Python anchietae | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Serpentes |
Family: | Pythonidae |
Genus: | Python |
Species: | P. anchietae |
Binomial name | |
Python anchietae Bocage, 1887 | |
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Approximate distribution | |
Synonyms [2] | |
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Python anchietae (with common names Angolan python and Anchieta's dwarf python) [3] is a python species endemic to southern Africa. According to Donald George Broadley (1990), this species is most closely related to the ball python (P. regius) of western Africa, [3] and no subspecies are currently recognized. [4] It is named after the Portuguese naturalist and explorer José Alberto de Oliveira Anchieta. [5] Like all other pythons, it is not venomous.
Python anchietae may grow up to 183 cm (6 ft) in total length (including tail). The color pattern is a reddish-brown to brown to almost black ground, overlaid with irregular white or cream-colored bands and spots. The belly is yellowish. A rare species seldom seen in the wild or in captivity, it is the only python to have "bead-like" head scales. [3] It has heat sensitive pits, five on each side of the head, on the upper lip. The smooth dorsal scales are arranged in 57-61 rows. [6]
Python anchietae is found in Africa in southern Angola and northern Namibia. The type locality given is "Catumbella [Catumbela]" near Lobito, Angola. [2] [4] Habitats are rocky outcrops or areas strewn with rocks in open brush or grassland. [3] Diurnal, they shelter in small caves, overhangs and crevices.
Python anchietae exhibits hisses, which are mostly bluff. [3] Its diet consists of small mammals and birds. [3] It is oviparous, with small clutches of four to five eggs being produced at a time. Hatchlings are 43–46 cm (17–18 in)long. [3]