Spotted python
| Spotted python | ||||||||||||
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Spotted python ( Antaresia childreni ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Antaresia childreni | ||||||||||||
| ( Gray , 1842) |
The spotted python or children's python ( Antaresia childreni ) is a species of snake from the python family (Pythonidae). The specific epithet childreni was given in honor of the British zoologist, chemist and mineralogist John George Children .
features
The spotted python is a relatively small species of python with an average body length of around 75 cm and a maximum length of 112 cm. The body color is very different from region to region, mostly gray to reddish brown with lighter flanks and dark brown, row-like transverse bands and spots. The head is only moderately separated from the neck and is usually a monochrome brown on the top. A dark brown temple band runs from the corner of the mouth over the eye to the nostril. In general, the young animals are darker with clearer markings, in older animals the color fades. In the northern area of the distribution area there are also single-colored, dark-brown individuals.
Of the 10 to 14 infralabial shields , the seventh to tenth have sensory pits, while the 10 to 12 supralabial shields have no pits. The trunk has 35 to 44 oblique rows of scales , 240 to 295 ventral and 37 to 40 tail shields , and an undivided anal shield .
distribution and habitat
The species occurs in Northern Australia from northeast Western Australia to northwest Queensland and on some coastal islands. It colonizes diverse habitats, from the coastal rainforests to inland deserts and is also found in the immediate vicinity of human settlements.
Way of life and reproduction
The spotted python is predominantly ground dwelling and nocturnal. The range of prey includes lizards, frogs, birds and small mammals. The mating takes place in the cool months of May to August, the males carry out ritualized fights for the females. The 7 to 15 eggs are laid in September or October and embraced by the female. After fertilization, the pregnant females maintain a higher and more stable body temperature by looking for warm spots. After the eggs are laid, the clutch is embraced by the female, which will probably not lead to further warming, but will result in less water loss. The approximately 25 cm long young hatch in December.
swell
- Ludwig Trutnau : Non-poisonous snakes, part 1 . 4th edition. Eugen Ulmer GmbH & Co., Stuttgart 2002, ISBN 3-8001-3223-0 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Olivier Louradis, Benoit Heulin, Dale F. DeNardo: Thermoregulation during gravidity in the children's python (Antaresia childreni): a test of the preadaptation hypothesis for maternal thermophily in snakes . In: Biological Journal of the Linnean Society . tape 93 , no. 3 , 2008, p. 499-508 (English).
- ↑ Olivier Lourdais, Ty CM Hoffman, Dale F. DeNardo: Maternal brooding in the children's python (Antaresia childreni) promotes egg water balance . In: Journal of Comparative Physiology B: Biochemical, Systemic, and Environmental Physiology . tape 177 , no. 5 , 2007, p. 569-577 (English).
