Oenpellipython
| Oenpellipython | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Simalia oenpelliensis | ||||||||||||
| ( Gow , 1977) |
The Oenpellipython ( Simalia oenpelliensis , syn .: Morelia oenpelliensis ), also Oenpelli python , is a species from the family of the pythons (Pythonidae).
The species is named after the village of Oenpelli in the Australian Northern Territory .
features
With an average length of 2 to 3 meters and a maximum length of over 4 meters, the oenpellipython is one of the largest species of snake in Australia. The head is elongated and clearly set off from the neck. The body is noticeably slender for a python and compressed at the sides. The back is fawn brown, the flanks are pale gray, the belly cream-colored to yellowish. As a drawing, the species has irregularly shaped dark spots and spots in four to six longitudinal rows. The head has brown stripes on the temples, the top can be monochrome or spotted.
The frontal shield is large and undivided, partially divided or completely divided into three or four shields. In front of it there are 15 to 35 small shields that border the rear prefrontal . The anterior pair of prefrontalia is adjacent to a pair of internasal shields . The large eye is surrounded by 5 to 8 pre- and 5 to 7 postocular shields. There are 27 to 50 Loreal shields . Warmth pits are located on the rostral shield and on the first six to seven of the 22 to 25 infralabial shields and are absent on the 13 to 16 supralabial shields . The trunk has 70 rows of smooth scales in oblique rows, 429 to 445 ventral shields and 155 to 163 mostly divided sub-caudal shields and an undivided anal shield .
Distribution and way of life
The oenpellipython is endemic to western Arnhem Land in the Australian Northern Territory . The habitat includes the weathered sandstone massifs and dry forests as well as some patches of monsoon forest .
The species lives both on the ground and on trees and feeds primarily on medium-sized to large mammals, especially opossums and kangaroos . During the day the animals hide in crevices, caves or large tree stumps. Little is known about reproduction; clutches of 4 to 9 eggs have been observed in captivity.
swell
- Ludwig Trutnau : Non-poisonous snakes, part 1 . 4th edition. Eugen Ulmer GmbH & Co., Stuttgart 2002, ISBN 3-8001-3223-0 .
- Simalia oenpelli at the Park and Wildlife Commission, Northen Territory (PDF file; 441 kB)