| Rough-scaled python | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Rough-scaled python pictured in captivity. | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Pythonidae |
| Genus: | Morelia |
| Species: | M. carinata |
| Binomial name | |
| Morelia carinata (L.A. Smith, 1981) [2] | |
| Synonyms | |
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The rough-scaled python (Morelia carinata) is a large-scaled python species endemic to Australia. No subspecies are currently recognized. [4]
The rough-scaled python is able to grow to around 2 m (6.6 ft) in total length. It has a triangular-shaped head with a conspicuous constriction at the neck area. [5] M. carinata is distinguished by the presence of a large parietal scale and by having distinct keeled dorsal scales. The body is slim and muscular. The color pattern is light honey-tan with darker reddish-brown markings or dark brown with pale brown blotches. The blotches become larger toward the tail, so the pattern appears to be reversed. [5] The belly is white, possibly with black spots. The markings are thought to assist in providing camouflage. The wrinkled to corrugated scales also assist the snake in climbing up sandstone and crevices. [6]
The species was first formally identified by biologist L.A. Smith in 1981 as part of the work A revision of the python genera Aspidites and Python (Serpentes: Boidae) in Western Australia as published in the Records of the Western Australian Museum. [7]
They are now available to private owners, originating from a few wild-caught specimens, as they were found to breed readily in captivity.
Three males and two females were collected and transferred to the Australian Reptile Park in 2000 and had produced 71 offspring by 2012. These, in turn, had produced another offspring. [6]
These snakes are found in Australia, in northwestern Western Australia in the lower sections of the Mitchell and Hunter Rivers, just inland from the coast. [6] The type locality given is "Mitchell River Falls, Western Australia (14°50'S, 125°42'E)" [Australia]. [3]
They are found in rocky valleys of Kimberley region in far northern Western Australia, where they climb on low trees and shrubs of monsoon rainforest. The species has one of the smallest distributions of any snake. [5] They are present in the Charnley River–Artesian Range Wildlife Sanctuary in the Kimberley region. [8]
The species is often associated with fruit-bearing trees, possibly indicating a preference of ambush sites for herbivorous animals, and also close to permanent fresh water. [6]
So far, they are reported to be strictly crepuscular. Their temperament is quite docile with rarely any attempts to bite.
This species is confirmed to be an egg-layer (oviparous) like other pythons. The mating season is between July and August, after which the female will typically find a vacant mammal or reptile burrow (or an otherwise dark, secluded location) to occupy for a number of weeks, effectively converting the space into a nursery. Females usually lay around ten semi-soft, leathery, oval-shaped eggs, which they then incubate with their body heat for several weeks, abstaining from all food or water, not wishing to deprive any essential warmth to the developing eggs until they hatch. Once the eggs do begin cracking, and the young pythons finally take their first breaths of air, the likely starving and parched mother leaves her offspring in-search of nourishment, never to return. She does not take care of the babies, which are instead born with a hunter’s instinct. The snakelets begin their lives by hunting larger insects, such as beetles or large crickets, before gradually moving-on to mammalian prey. [5]
This species was only filmed for the first time by wildlife conservationist Malcolm Douglas, and shown on his Kimberley Adventure Part 1. (1997)
The Boidae, commonly known as boas or boids, are a family of nonvenomous snakes primarily found in the Americas, as well as Africa, Europe, Asia, and some Pacific islands. Boas include some of the world's largest snakes, with the green anaconda of South America being the heaviest and second-longest snake known; in general, adults are medium to large in size, with females usually larger than the males. Six subfamilies comprising 15 genera and 54 species are currently recognized.
Aspidites is a genus of pythons endemic to Australia. The name can be translated as "shield bearer" and pertains to the symmetrically shaped head scales. Currently, two species are recognized.
Loxocemus bicolor, the sole member of the monotypic family Loxocemidae and commonly known as the Mexican python, Mexican burrowing python and Mexican burrowing snake, is a species of python-like snake found in Mexico and Central America. No subspecies are currently recognized. Analyses of DNA show that Loxocemus is most closely related to the true pythons and the sunbeam snakes.
The green tree python, also known as the emerald green 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.
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.
Children's python is a species of nonvenomous snake in the family Pythonidae. The species is named after John George Children. It is a nocturnal species occurring in the northern half of Australia and generally found on the ground, although it often climbs trees. Usually growing to about 1.0 m (3 ft) in length or more depending on the polymorphic variant, it is typically a reddish-brown colour, darker on the upper surface, and with many darker blotches, especially on younger specimens. The Stimson's python variant has much stronger and more variable colours; often being adorned with reddish-brown to chocolate blotches against lighter tan. It feeds mostly on small mammals and birds, and as with other pythons, it constricts its prey before swallowing it whole. It is a popular pet among reptile enthusiasts.
The woma python, also known commonly as Ramsay's python, the sand python, and simply the woma, is a species of snake in the family Pythonidae, endemic to Australia. Once common throughout Western Australia, it has become critically endangered in some regions.
Eryx conicus, also known as Russell's sand boa, the Common sand boa or the rough-tailed sand boa, is a species of non-venomous snake in the subfamily Erycinae of the family Boidae. The species is native to Southern Asia. No subspecies are recognised.
The amethystine python, also known as the scrub python or sanca permata in Indonesian, is a species of non-venomous snake in the family Pythonidae. The species is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Popular among reptile enthusiasts, and noted for its coloration and size, it is one of the largest snakes in the world, as measured either by length or weight, and is the largest native snake in Papua New Guinea. Until 2000, the larger S. kinghorni was generally considered a subspecies of S. amethistina, and this change of classification has still not been universally reflected in literature. Because of this issue, S. amethistina has often been described as the largest snake in Australia, but this is not accurate since under the current classification, this species does not occur in Australia.
The Oenpelli python or Oenpelli rock python is a species of large snake in the family Pythonidae. The species is endemic to the sandstone massif area of the western Arnhem Land region in the Northern Territory of Australia. There are no subspecies that are recognised as being valid. It has been called the rarest python in the world. Two notable characteristics of the species are the unusually large size of its eggs and its ability to change colour.
Morelia spilota spilota is a subspecies of carpet python, popularly known as the diamond python. It is a medium to large snake, found in coastal areas and adjacent ranges of south-eastern Australia. It is the most southerly occurring python in the world and is found at higher altitudes than any other species of Australian python.
Morelia spilota variegata, commonly known as Torresian carpet python, Darwin carpet python or northwestern carpet python, is a subspecies of python found in New Guinea and Australia, smaller than the nominate subspecies Morelia spilota spilota and has a more restricted geographic range.
The olive python is a species of snake in the family Pythonidae. The species is endemic to Australia. Two subspecies are recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here.
Morelia spilota mcdowelli is a subspecies of Morelia spilota, commonly known as the carpet python, and is informally named the eastern, coastal, or McDowell's carpet python. The original description and name were published by Wells and Wellington in 1984. It occurs along the northeastern coast of Australia and in New Guinea.
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.
Liasis olivaceus barroni is a python found in the Pilbara region of northwest Australia. They are recognised as a subspecies of Liasis olivaceus, separating the population from the olive python found to the east. It is a large snake, most often around 2.5 metres in length, although individuals may attain a larger size. The python is an ambush predator, using a sit and wait method at a path or beneath the water to capture a variety of animals that inhabit the arid surroundings. The range of prey includes amphibians, birds and other reptiles, and mammals as large as a rock wallaby.
Simalia tracyae, the Halmahera python, is a species of python found only on the Indonesian island of Halmahera. It belongs to the family Pythonidae and the genus Simalia. This snake was previously believed to have belonged to the Simalia amesthistina species; however, studies in recent years have caused scientists to distinguish between the two types of snakes, resulting in the reclassification of the Halmahera python as its own species.
Charnley River–Artesian Range Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area covering about 3,000 square kilometres (1,200 sq mi) in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. It is situated about 205 kilometres (127 mi) east of Derby and 287 kilometres (178 mi) north west of Halls Creek, and is accessed via the Gibb River Road. It is named after the Charnley River that flows through the property.
The Australian scrub python, or simply scrub python is a species of snake in the family Pythonidae. The species is indigenous to forests of northern Australia. It is one of the world's longest and largest snakes, and is the longest and largest in Australia. Recently, it has been reclassified to the genus Simalia alongside a few other former Morelia species, but scientific debate over this continues.
