Morelia amethistina
| Morelia amethistina | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Pythonidae |
| Genus: | Morelia |
| Species: | M. amethistina |
| Binomial name | |
| Morelia amethistina (Schneider, 1801) | |
| Synonyms | |
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Morelia amethistina is a nonvenomous species of snake, known as the amethystine, scrub python, or sanca permata locally, found in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Australia. Popular among reptile enthusiasts, and noted for its coloration and size, it is one of the six largest snakes in the world, as measured either by length or weight, and is the largest native snake in Australia and Papua New Guinea. Currently, four subspecies of the nominate race, M. a. amethystina, are generally recognized. The Mollucan Islands, including Halmahera, Ternate, and Tidore, are home to M. a. tracyei. The Tanimbar Islands are home to a smaller subspecies, M. a. nauta. On the island of Seram, M. a. clastolepis can be found, and mainland PNG (including the Indonesian western half, once called Irian Jaya—now West Papua) and many of its near offshore islands, M. a. amethystina is quite common. In Australia, M. a. kinghorni is represented.[3]
Taxonomy
According to McDiarmid et al. (1999), all cases in which the specific name was spelled with a y follow Daudin's (1803) Python amethystinus and are therefore unjustified emendations.[2] The specific name, amethistina, is an allusion to the milky iridescent sheen on its scales, which gives it an amethyst-like color.
Description
Specimens have reportedly been measured at more than 8.5 m (27.9 ft) in total length, but this is exceptional, as 5 m (16.4 ft) specimens are already considered large. As is typical for very large constricting snakes, almost no verified specimens of this species have exceeded 6 m (19.7 ft). However, in 1990, while conducting a herpetological survey, Tom Mendelson collected a wild female specimen on Biak Island, far Eastern Indonesia, which measured 22 feet 7 inches. Another huge female, in a report considered reliable by the staff of the Guinness Book of World Records, was measured by S. Dean in 1954 as 7.2 m (23.6 ft).[4] A typical adult specimen will measure around 2 to 4 m (6.6 to 13.1 ft).[5] Females typically weigh around 15 kg (33 lb). Some exceptional specimens have been confirmed to weigh over 30 kg (66 lb) and unconfirmed outsized specimens have been reported to scale 90 kg (200 lb), although no specimen of this enormous size has been authenticated.[4][6][7] Males are much smaller and slimmer, averaging at 5.1 kg (11 lb) at maturity, and occasionally weighing upwards of 11 kg (24 lb).[8] The body is relatively slim, unlike those of many other large members of this family.
The smooth dorsal scales are arranged in 39–53 rows at midbody. Deep pits are on six or seven of the posterior lower labials.[9]
Distribution and habitat
These snakes are found in Indonesia (Maluku Islands, Timur Laut Islands, Banda, Kai Islands, Aru Islands, Misool, Salawati, most of Western New Guinea, many islands in Geelvink Bay, such as Biak, Numfor, Yapen, and Supiori), Papua New Guinea (including Umboi Island, Bismarck Archipelago, Trobriand Islands, the d'Entrecasteaux Islands to Rossel Island, Louisiade Archipelago), and Australia (on some islands in the Torres Strait, the northern Cape York Peninsula south including the Atherton Tableland, and the eastern foothills of the Great Dividing Range). The type locality is unknown.[2]
M. amethistina occurs in both bushland and suburbia. In Indonesia and northern tropical Queensland, it is found mostly in rainforests. Warm, humid habitats with good water sources are preferred. In northern Australia and New Guinea, it mostly lives in scrublands.
Feeding
Their diet generally consists of birds, bats, rats, possums, and other small mammals. Larger Australian and Papuan specimens catch and eat wallabies, and cuscus, waiting by creek and river banks for prey seeking drinking water.
Gallery
A 3.2-m-long, intact python skin in Australia: The snake that shed this skin would be significantly shorter than 3.2 m, as the snake skin is folded on top of and below each scale. This causes a shed skin to be almost twice as long as the snake that shed it.
M. amethistina from the Bronx Zoo in New York City
Wild M. amethistina, North Queensland
References
- ↑ Auliya, M. (2010). "Morelia amethistina". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
- 1 2 3 McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1. Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
- ↑ "Morelia amethistina". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 18 September 2007.
- 1 2 Wood, Gerald (1983). The Guinness Book of Animal Facts and Feats. ISBN 978-0-85112-235-9.
- ↑ Rainforest Reptiles – Skyrail Nature Diary. Skyrail. Retrieved on 2012-08-21.
- ↑ "Snakes- Wet Tropics Management Authority". Wet Tropics Management Authority. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 2013-01-10.
- ↑ "The world's largest snakes". Socialphy. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 2013-01-10.
- ↑ Fearn, S.; Schwarzkopf, L. & Shine, R. "Giant snakes in tropical forests: a field study of Australian scrub pythons" (PDF). CSIRO Publishing- Wildlife Research. Retrieved 2013-01-10.
- ↑ Boulenger, G.A. 1893. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families...Boidæ... Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, Printers.) London. xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I.- XXVIII. ("Python amethystinus", pp. 83-84.)
Further reading
- Schneider, J.G. 1801. Historiae Amphibiorum naturalis et literariae Fasciculus Secundus continens Crocodilos, Scincos, Chamaesauras, Boas, Pseudoboas, Elapes, Angues, Amphisbaenas et Caecilias. Frommann. Jena. vi + 364 pp. + 2 plates. ("[Boa] Amethistina", p. 254.)
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Morelia amethistina. |
- Morelia amethistina at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 18 September 2007.
- Amethystine python at Bristol Zoo. Accessed 18 September 2007.