D'Albertis python
| D'Albertis python | |
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| Leiopython albertisii | |
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| Species: | L. albertisii
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| Leiopython albertisii | |
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Leiopython albertisii, commonly known as D'Albert's water python, white-lipped python, or northern white-lipped python, is a species of python in the Pythonidae family.
Geographic range
These snakes are found in most of New Guinea (below 1200 m), including the islands of Salawati and Biak, Normanby, Mussau and Emirau,[3] as well as a few islands in the Torres Strait.
The type locality given is "Kapaor in Nova Guinea boreali occidentali ... et prope Andai ". The authors also stated localities for two additional specimens: "... un esemplare a Kapaor fra i Papua Onin..." and "... un secondo esemplare ad Andai presso Dorei..." (Kapoar, Onin Peninsula and Andai, near Dorei, Irian Jaya, Indonesia).[1]
Some doubt can be cast on its occurrence on Normanby, as McDowell (1975)[4] had erroneously assigned Bara Bara to this island, rather than to the mainland of Papua New Guinea[3] in Milne Bay Province as stated by Boulenger (1898)[5] and Koopman (1982).[6]
Etymology
The species was named in honor of Luigi D'Albertis.[7][8]
Description
Female adults grow to an average of about 213 cm in length (6–7 ft). They are patternless, except for some light markings on its postoculars. The dorsum of the head is shiny black, the upper and lower labial scales are white with black markings on the anterior edge of the scales. Body color is either brownish-violet fading to yellowish ventrally (L. albertisii) or blackish-blue fading to gray.
Behavior
Although mostly terrestrial, these snakes can and are known to occasionally climb.[9] White-lipped pythons are reportedly aggressive, though this is reduced in those born and raised in captivity.[10] These snakes have also been observed to regularly regurgitate fur balls from their prey.[11]
Feeding
The diet includes a range of small- to medium-sized birds and mammals.[12] Neonates and juveniles often feed on lizards. Heat sensitive pits in the upper and lower jaws are used to help locate prey during nocturnal hunting.[13]
Reproduction
The oviparous females lay about a dozen eggs. The eggs stick together in a compact pile, and the females coils around them. The hatchlings emerge after about two months of incubation and are about 38 cm (15 in) in length.[12]
References
- ^ a b McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
- ^ R. Graham Reynolds, Matthew L. Niemiller, Liam J. Revell, 2014, Toward a Tree-of-Life for the boas and pythons: Multilocus species-level phylogeny with unprecedented taxon sampling
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
Schleip2008was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ McDowell SB. 1975. "A catalogue of the snakes of New Guinea and the Solomon’s, with special Reference to Those in the Bernice P. Bishop Museum. Part II". (24.02.1975). Journal of Herpetology 9 (1): 1-79.
- ^ Boulenger GA. 1898. "An account of the reptiles and batrachians collected by Dr. L. Loria in British New Guinea". Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova, Series 2, 18: 694-710.
- ^ Koopman KF. 1982. "Results of the Archibold Expedition No. 109. Bats from Eastern Papua and the East Papua Islands". American Museum Novitates (2747): 1-34.
- ^ Peters W, Doria G. 1878. "Catalogo dei rettili e dei batraci raccolti da O. Beccari, L. M. D'Albertis e A. A. Bruijn nella sotto-regione austro-malese". Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova, Series 1, 13: 323-450. ("Liasis Albertisii, n. sp.", pp. 401-403 + Plate III, Figure 2).
- ^ Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M. 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Leiopython albertisii, p. 64; L. bennettorum, p. 22).
- ^ "Leiopython Albertisii". Retrieved 14 December 2016.
- ^ "White Lipped Python". Python Snake Database. Snake Estate. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
- ^ Schleip, Wulf (June 2009). "Leiopython albertisii (Northern White-Lipped Python). Behavior" (PDF). Herpetological Review. 40 (2): 231. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
Meh87was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Leiopython Albertisii". Retrieved 14 December 2016.
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