''Morelia spilota'', commonly known as the carpet python, is a large

snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...

of the family Pythonidae found in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

(

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

and

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

), Bismarck Archipelago, and the northern

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

. Many

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

are recognised; ITIS lists six, the Reptile Database six, and the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

eight.

Description

''M. spilota'' is a large

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of python in the genus, reaching between in length and weighing up to . ''M. s. mcdowelli ''is the largest subspecies, regularly attaining lengths of . '' M. s. variegata'' is the smallest subspecies, typically in length. The average adult length is roughly . However, one 3-year-old captive male ''M. s. mcdowelli'', measured in Ireland, was found to exceed . Males are typically smaller than females; in some regions, females are up to four times heavier. The head is triangular with a conspicuous row of thermoreceptive labial pits. The colouring of ''M. spilota'' is highly variable, ranging from olive to black with white or cream and gold markings. The patterning may be roughly diamond-shaped or have intricate markings made up of light and dark bands on a background of grey or a version of brown.

Reproduction

The species is

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that reproduce by depositing fertilized zygotes outside the body (i.e., by laying or spawning) in metabolically independent incubation organs known as eggs, which nurture the embryo into moving offsprings kno ...

, with females laying 10–50 eggs at a time. Afterward, females coil around the eggs to protect them and keep them warm through using muscular contractions to generate heat. This type of maternal care, which is typical for pythons, ceases once the hatchlings have emerged.

Behaviour

Differences in activity are noted throughout various subspecies; as a whole, the species is generally active during both daytime and nighttime, although the subspecies ''M. s. variegata'' is noted to be primarily nocturnal. Carpet pythons favor arboreal living conditions, although they can also be found on the ground, and they commonly use open spaces to bask.

Seasonal activity

In the northern Australian city of Darwin, carpet pythons are significantly more likely to be encountered in suburban areas during the dry season months of May–July. This is indicative of shifts in snake behaviour or movement across the year, with snakes likely moving out of natural forest areas in the later dry season to the more productive suburban areas in search of prey or mates.

Diet

Carpet pythons kill prey by constriction. Their diet consists mainly of small

mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

s, and

lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...

s. Incidents of carpet pythons devouring domestic cats and small dogs have been reported.

Distribution and habitat

The species is found throughout mainland Australia, with the exception of the arid centre and the western regions. It is widely distributed throughout the forest regions of Southwest Australia. It is also found in

(southern Western New Guinea in Merauke Regency),

(southern Western Province, the Port Moresby area of Central Province), and on Yule Island. The type locality given is "Nouvelle-Hollande" ustralia It occurs in a wide variety of habitats, from the rainforests of northeastern Queensland ('' M. s. cheynei'') through the River Red Gum/Riverbox woodlands of the Murray and Darling Rivers ('' M. s. metcalfei''), to the arid, treeless islands of the Nuyts Archipelago off the South Australian west coast ('' M. s. imbricata''). It is also found in temperate grasslands with hot and dry weather. It is often found near human habitation, where it performs a useful service by eating rats and other vermin. ''M. spilota'' is known to occur in areas that receive snowfall.

Conservation

''M. spilota'' is not threatened as a species. The nominate subspecies, ''M. s. spilota'', is listed as threatened with extinction in Victoria. The subspecies ''M. s. imbricata'' is regarded as near threatened in

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, due to loss of habitat.

Captivity

This species is a popular pet among snake enthusiasts. Some forms can be more irascible than others, such as '' M. s. mcdowelli'' and ''M. s. variegata''. Forms that tend to be more even tempered include ''M. s. spilota'' and ''M. s. metcalfei''. Although they can be nippy as hatchlings, most grow into docile adults. However, care must be taken when feeding, as these snakes have a strong "feeding response" that can be mistaken for aggression. The care requirements can be generalized for all subspecies. The subspecies ''M. s. spilota'', the cold-weather diamond python, has some separate requirements and habits. As medium to large snakes, carpet pythons need a proportionately sized enclosure that allows for climbing as well as crawling around on the ground. They generally require moderately high basking temperature and moderate humidity. Captive specimens are normally fed live or frozen (defrosted to room temperature) rats or mice, but it is considered best practice to offer a varied diet which includes other types of rodents and birds to create more balanced nutrition. Young carpet pythons can be fed every 1–2 weeks, but adults have slower metabolisms and should be fed every 2–4 weeks depending on body condition. With good care, the carpet python is capable of living up to 30 years.

Subspecies

The geographic distribution and common names can be summarised as the following:

Hybrids

* ''Morelia spilota'' X '' viridis''

Naming and taxonomy

The first description of ''M. spilota'' was by Lacépède (1804), who placed it in the genus '' Coluber'' as ''Coluber spilotus''. The species has since been described by various authors as containing a number of subspecies and hybrids; these have also been known by various informal names. The attempted arrangement of taxa in this, and other, Australasian Pythonidae has produced numerous synonyms. The discreet and roaming habits of this species have produced a low number of recorded specimens, giving inadequate sample numbers to support descriptions of a taxon's morphology. This is the case with proposed names which are sometimes cited, such as the Papuan ''Morelia spilota harrisoni'' ( Hoser),Hoser, R. (2000a) A revision of the Australasian pythons. Ophidia Review 1(1): 7-27. despite being unaccepted or invalid. Common names are regional variants of carpet and diamond python or snake.Mehrtens JM. 1987. ''Living Snakes of the World in Color''. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. . Ditmars RL. 1933. ''Reptiles of the World. Revised Edition''. The MacMillan Company. 329 pp. 89 plates. The following is an incomplete list of synonyms:McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 1999. ''Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1''. Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. (series). (volume). * 'Coluber''''Arges'' - Linnaeus, 1758 * 'Coluber''''Argus'' - Linnaeus, 1766 * ''Coluber spilotus'' - Lacépède, 1804 * 'Python''''punctatus'' - Merrem, 1820 * 'Coluber'' (''Natrix'')''Argus'' - Merrem, 1820 * 'Vipera'' (''Echidna'')''Spilotes'' - Merrem, 1820 * ''Python Peronii'' - Wagler, 1828 * ''Python spilotes'' - Gray ''In'' G. Grey, 1841 * ''Morelia punctata'' - Gray, 1842 * ''Morelia argus'' - A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1844 * ''Morelia spilotes'' - Gray, 1849 * ''M'' 'orelia'' ''argus'' var. ''fasciolata'' - Jan ''In'' Jan & Sordelli, 1864 * ''Python spilotes'' - Boulenger, 1893 * 'Python spilotes spilotes''- Werner, 1909 * ''Python spilotes macrospila'' - Werner, 1909 * ''Morelia argus'' - Loveridge, 1934 * ''Morelia argus'' - Stull, 1935 * ''Morelia spilotes spilotes'' - Worrell, 1961 * ''Morelia argus argus'' - Stimson, 1969 * ''Python spilotes'' - McDowell, 1975 * 'Python spilotus spilotus''- L.A. Smith, 1981 * ''Morelia spilota'' - Cogger, Cameron & Cogger, 1983 * ''Morelia spilota'' - Underwood & Stimson, 1990 * ''Morelia spilota spilota'' - Barker & Barker, 1994

References

External links

DPIPWE (2012) Carpet Python (''Morelia spilota'')
PDF — Detailed description and pest risk assessment — Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water & Environment. Hobart, Tasmania. {{Taxonbar, from=Q575770 Morelia (snake) Snakes of Australia Reptiles of Indonesia Reptiles of Papua New Guinea Reptiles described in 1804 Snakes of New Guinea