Timor python

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Timor python
Python timoriensis Tropicario 1.JPG
Malayopython timoriensis in a zoo
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Pythonidae
Genus: Malayopython
Species:
M. timoriensis
Binomial name
Malayopython timoriensis
(W. Peters, 1876)
Synonyms
  • Liasis amethystinus var. timoriensis
    W. Peters, 1876
  • Liasis Petersii
    Hubrecht, 1879
  • Python timorensis
    Boulenger, 1893
  • Python timoriensis
    F. Werner, 1899
  • Python timoriensis
    Stimson, 1969
  • Australiasis timoriensis
    Wells & Wellington, 1984
  • Morelia timoriensis
    Welch, 1988
  • P [ython]. timoriensis
    Kluge, 1993 [1]
  • Broghammerus timoriensis
    Rawlings et al., 2008 [2]

The Timor python (Malayopython timoriensis) is a python species found in Southeast Asia. A dwarf species, no subspecies are recognized as being valid. [3] Like all pythons, it is a nonvenomous constrictor; unlike larger species such as the reticulated python, it is not considered dangerous to humans.

Contents

Description

The Timor python is a fairly long, over 7 ft (2.1 m), but relatively thin python. It has a series of heat-sensing pits between its nostrils and mouth used to find warm-blooded prey in total darkness. It is cold-blooded. [4]

Geographic range

M. timoriensis is found in Southeast Asia on the Lesser Sunda Islands (Flores, Lombien and Timor islands), its type locality is given as "Kupang, (Timor)" [Indonesia]. [1]

Behavior

M. timoriensis is partly arboreal. [5]

Feeding

Captive specimens of M. timoriensis have been known to accept birds and small mammals. [4]

Reproduction

M. timoriensis is oviparous. [5]

Taxonomy

Liasis amethystinus var. timoriensis was the scientific name proposed by Wilhelm Peters in 1876. [6]

Authors of a phylogenetic study suggested that the Timor python together with the reticulated python should be moved to a distinct genus Broghammerus. [2] Subsequent phylogenetic analyses have supported the separation of the Timor and reticulated pythons from genus Python. However, Broghammerus is considered an invalid name by most authorities, which made R. Graham Reynolds et al. formally rename this clade Malayopython in 2014, a decision that was followed by many authors. [7] [8] [9] [10]

Related Research Articles

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

The reticulated python is a python species native to South and Southeast Asia. It is the world's longest snake, and is among the three heaviest. It is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List because of its wide distribution. In several countries in its range, it is hunted for its skin, for use in traditional medicine, and for sale as pets.

<i>Antaresia</i> Genus of snakes

Antaresia is a genus of pythons, nonvenomous snakes in the family Pythonidae. The genus is native to Australasia. The genus is known by the common name Children's pythons, the name of the type species, Antaresia childreni. Gray named A. childreni in honour of his mentor, John George Children, who was a curator of the zoological collection at the British Museum around that time. It contains the smallest members of the Pythonidae. Four species and two subspecies are recognized, although they were all considered part of the same species until recently. A newly described form called the pygmy banded python may be a distinct species, but analysis has not yet been performed on this animal. The largest recorded examples of Antaresia species have all been males, suggesting males of the known species in this genus may compete for females. This behavior has never been witnessed in the wild, and has only been witnessed in captive specimens.

<i>Liasis</i> Genus of snakes

Liasis is a genus of pythons found in Indonesia, New Guinea and Australia. Currently, three extant species are recognized and one giant fossil species L. dubudingala, estimated to have been around 10 m (33 ft) in length.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sumatran short-tailed python</span> Species of snake

The Sumatran short-tailed python is a species of the family Pythonidae, a nonvenomous snake native to Sumatra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Children's python</span> Species of reptile

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 colors; 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spotted python</span> Species of reptile

The spotted python, eastern small-blotched python, or eastern Children's python is a python species found in northern Australia and New Guinea. It is a popular pet among Australian reptile enthusiasts and other reptile enthusiasts abroad due to its small size and even temperament. No subspecies were originally recognized. However, two subspecies were recognized as of 2020; A. m. maculosa and A. m. peninsularis.

<i>Python</i> (genus) Genus of snakes

Python is a genus of constricting snakes in the Pythonidae family native to the tropics and subtropics of the Eastern Hemisphere.

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

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.

<i>Python brongersmai</i> Species of snake

Python brongersmai is a species of nonvenomous snake in the family Pythonidae. The species is native to Southeast Asia.

The Pythonoidea, also known as pythonoid snakes, are a superfamily of snakes that contains pythons and other closely related python-like snakes. As of 2022, Pythonoidea contains 39 species, including the eponymous genus Python and 10 other genera of pythons, all in the family Pythonidae, as well as two lesser-known families, Loxocemidae and Xenopeltidae.

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

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.

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

The water python is a python species found in Australia and Papua New Guinea. No subspecies are currently recognized. Like all other pythons, it is not venomous.

<i>Liasis mackloti</i> Species of snake

Liasis mackloti, commonly known as Macklot's python or the freckled python, is a species of python, a non-venomous snake in the family Pythonidae. The species is endemic to Indonesia, East Timor, Papua New Guinea, and coastal northern Australia. Three subspecies are recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here.

<i>Liasis mackloti savuensis</i> Subspecies of snake

Liasis mackloti savuensis, known as the Savu python, is a python subspecies found in Indonesia. It is known by the locals as sanca mata putih.

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

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.

<i>Malayopython</i> Genus of snakes

Malayopython is a genus of constricting snakes in the family Pythonidae. The genus is native to India and Southeast Asia. It contains two species, both of which were previously classified within the genus Python. However, multiple studies recovered these species as distinct. Known as the "reticulatus clade", it was eventually found to be a sister lineage to a lineage giving rise to the Indo-Australian pythons rather than the genus Python.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">D'Albertis python</span> Species of snake

D'Albertis' python, also known commonly as D'Albert's water python or the northern white-lipped python, is a species of python, a non-venomous snake in the family Pythonidae. The species is endemic to New Guinea. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid.

Morelia azurea is a species of snake. Commonly known as the northern green tree python, this arboreal python was previously included in the Morelia viridis species complex.

References

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  2. 1 2 Rawlings LH, Rabosky DL, Donnellan SC, Hutchinson MN (2008). "Python phylogenetics: inference from morphology and mitochondrial DNA". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society93: 603-619.
  3. "Python timoriensis ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System . Retrieved 21 September 2007.
  4. 1 2 Mehrtens JM (1987). Living Snakes of the World in Color. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. ISBN   0-8069-6460-X.
  5. 1 2 "Malayopython timoriensis ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  6. Peters W (1876). "Über die von S. M. S. Gazelle mitgebrachten Amphibien ". Monatsberichte der Königlich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin1876: 528–535 + Plate. (Liasis amethystinus var. timoriensis, new variety, p. 533 + Plate, figures 3, 3a, 3b, 3c). (in German).
  7. Reynolds RG, Niemiller ML, Revell LJ (2014). "Toward a tree-of-life for the boas and pythons: multilocus species-level phylogeny with unprecedented taxon sampling". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 71: 201–213. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2013.11.011. PMID   24315866.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. Kaiser H, Crother BI, Kelly CMR, Luiselli L, O'Shea M, Ota H, Passos P, Schleip W, Wüster W (2013). "Best Practices: In the 21st Century, Taxonomic Decisions in Herpetology are Acceptable Only When Supported by a Body of Evidence and Published via Peer-Review" (PDF). Herpetological Review. 44 (1): 8–23.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. Barker DG, Barker TM, Davis MA, Schuett GW (2015). "A review of the systematics and taxonomy of Pythonidae: an ancient serpent lineage" (PDF). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 175: 1–19. doi: 10.1111/zoj.12267 .
  10. Booth W, Schuett GW (2016). "The emerging phylogenetic pattern of parthenogenesis in snakes". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 118 (2): 172–186. doi: 10.1111/bij.12744 .

Further reading