Antaresia maculosa

Antaresia maculosa
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Pythonidae
Genus: Antaresia
Species: A. maculosa
Binomial name
Antaresia maculosa
(Peters, 1873)
Synonyms
  • Liasis maculosus - Peters, 1873
  • Antaresia maculosus - Wells & Wellington, 1984
  • A[ntaresia]. maculosa - Kluge, 1993[1]
Common names: spotted python.

Antaresia maculosa is a python species found in northern Australia. It is a popular pet among Australian reptile enthusiasts due to its small size and even temperament. No subspecies are currently recognized.[2]

Description

Adults average about 100–140 cm in length. It has an irregular, blotched color pattern throughout its life. The blotches have ragged edges because the dark pigmentation occurs only on complete scales.

Geographic range

Found in Australia from the extreme north of the Cape York Peninsula, south through eastern Queensland to northern New South Wales. Also on many islands off the coast of Queensland. The type locality given is "Rockhampton, Port Mackay, Port Bowen [= Port Clinton]" [Queensland, Australia]. L.A. Smith (1985) restricted the type locality to "Port Mackay" (Mackay, Queensland, in 21° 09'S, 149° 11'E) by lectotype designation.[1] Antaresia maculosa has also been recorded from the southern Trans-Fly region of Papua New Guinea, at Weam in Western Province [3] and there are concerns it may be being exploited for the pet trade across the border in Indonesian West New Guinea.[4][5]

Habitat

Found in most types of habitats, but prefers rocky hillsides and outcrops with crevices and caves.[6] The Papua specimen was found behind discarded corrugated tin sheets beside a disused airstrip in Eucalypt savanna-woodland habitat dotted with numerous termite mounds.

Feeding

One of its favorite foods are the insectivorous bats that it catches at the entrance of their caves. Being the largest members of this genus, captive specimens will usually accept mice and other small rodents.

Reproduction

Oviparous, with females laying up to 15 eggs in a clutch.

Taxonomy

A new subspecies, A. m. brentonoloughlini was described by Hoser (2003).[7] but this taxon is not considered valid by other herpetologists.[8][9] No subspecies of Antaresia maculosa are currently recognised.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 McDiarmid, R.W,, J.A. Campbell & T.Touré 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. ↑ "Antaresia maculosa". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 18 September 2007.
  3. ↑ O’Shea, M., R.G. Sprackland & I. Bigilale (2004). "First record for the genus Antaresia (Squamata: Pythonidae) from Papua New Guinea.". Herpetological Review 35(3) :225-227.
  4. ↑ Natusch, D.J.D. & J.A. Lyons 2011. The harvest of Antaresia maculosa (Pythonidae) from West Papua, New Guinea. Herpetological Review 42(4) :509-511.
  5. ↑ Natusch, D.J.D., & J.A. Lyons (2012). "Exploited for pets: the harvest and trade of amphibians and reptiles from Indonesian New Guinea.". Biodiversity and Conservation 21(11) :2899-2911.
  6. ↑ Barker, D.G. & T.M. Barker 1994. Pythons of the World Vol.1 Australia. The Herpetocultural Library. xviii + 171 pp. ISBN 1882770277.
  7. ↑ Antaresia maculosa at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 9 September 2007.
  8. ↑ Schleip, W. & M. O’Shea (2010). "Annotated checklist of the recent and extinct pythons (Serpentes, Pythonidae), with notes on nomenclature, taxonomy, and distribution.". ZooKeys 66 :29-79.
  9. ↑ Kaiser, H., B.I. Crother, C.M.R. Kelly, L. Luiselli, M. O'Shea, H. Ota, P. Passos, W. Schleip & W. Wüster (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.". Herpetological Review 44(1) :8-23.

Further reading

  • Mattison C. 1999. Snake. DK Publishing. ISBN 0-7894-4660-X.
  • Fyfe G, Green D. 2003. Keeping Children's Pythons. Australian Reptile Keeper Publications. ISBN 0-9586050-7-6.

External links

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