Children's python (''Antaresia childreni'') is a

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 nonvenomous

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 ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Pythonidae The Pythonidae, commonly known as pythons, are a Family (biology), family of Venomous snake, nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia. Among its members are some of the largest snakes in the world. Ten Genus, genera and 39 specie ...

. The species is named after

John George Children John George Children Royal Society, FRS FRSE Fellow of the Linnean Society, FLS Royal Entomological Society, PRES (18 May 1777 – 1 January 1852 in Halstead, Kent) was a British chemist, mineralogist and zoologist. He was a friend of Sir Humph ...

. It is a nocturnal species occurring in the northern half of

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 ...

and generally found on the ground, although it often climbs trees. Usually growing to about in length or more depending on the polymorphic variant, it is typically a reddish-brown colour, darker on the upper surface, and with many darker blotches, especially on younger specimens. The Stimson's python variant has much stronger and more variable colours; often being adorned with reddish-brown to chocolate blotches against lighter tan. It feeds mostly on small mammals and birds, and as with other pythons, it constricts its prey before swallowing it whole. It is a popular pet among reptile enthusiasts.

Taxonomy and naming

''Antaresia childreni'' is one of four species in the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Antaresia ''Antaresia'' is a genus of pythons, nonvenomous snakes in the Family (biology), family Pythonidae. The genus is native to Australasia. The genus is known by the common name Children's pythons, the name of the type species, ''Antaresia childreni ...

'', a genus in the family

. The genus is named after the star

Antares Antares is the brightest star in the constellation of Scorpius. It has the Bayer designation α Scorpii, which is Latinisation of names, Latinised to Alpha Scorpii. Often referred to as "the heart of the scorpion", Antares is flanked by ...

John Edward Gray John Edward Gray (12 February 1800 – 7 March 1875) was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of zoologist George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray (1766–1828). The same is used for a z ...

published the original description of the

in 1842, naming it ''Liasis childreni''. Both the common name and the

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

, ''childreni'', are in honour of Gray's mentor,

, a curator of the zoological collection at the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

around that time. As of 2020 no

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 as being valid. Some species of the genus ''Antaresia'' were formerly assigned to the

Morelia Morelia (; from 1545 to 1828 known as Valladolid; Otomi language, Otomi: ) is a city and municipal seat of the municipalities of Mexico, municipality of Morelia in the north-central part of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. It is both th ...

''. McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré TA (1999). ''Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1''. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. (series). (volume). Studies published in 2020 on the members of the genus ''Antaresia'' concluded that Stimson's and Children's pythons are synonymous species with different polymorphism. As a result, Stimson's python is now considered a polymorphic variant of Children's python. Children's python is known by other common names such as banded rock python, small-blotched python, and eastern small-blotched python.

Description

Adults of ''A. childreni'' grow to a total length (including tail) around depending on locality and polymorphic variant. The scales on the top of the head are enlarged, while those on the upper surface of the body are small and smooth, with a

rainbow A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...

sheen that can be seen when exposed to direct sunlight. The upper surface of the snake is brown with darker spots in five or six longitudinal series in the type variant. A dark streak on each side of the head passes across the

eye An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...

. The lips are yellowish, spotted with brown. The lower surface of the snake is uniformly yellowish. The head of the snake is distinct from the neck. The nostril is superolateral, pierced in a large semidivided

nasal scale In reptiles, the nasal scale refers to the scale that encloses the nostril. Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G (2003). ''True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers''. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. 359 pp. . Somet ...

. The eye is moderate in size, with a vertical pupil. The body is slightly laterally compressed. The tail is short. About 41 to 45 rows of

dorsal scales In snakes, the dorsal scales are the longitudinal series of plates that encircle the body, but do not include the ventral scales. Campbell JA, Lamar WW (2004). ''The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publis ...

cross the snake's back, and 257 to 287

ventral scales In snakes, the ventral scales or gastrosteges are the enlarged and transversely elongated scales that extend down the underside of the body from the neck to the anal scale. When counting them, the first is the anteriormost ventral scale that cont ...

are seen along the lower surface. A single undivided

anal scale In snakes, the anal scale or anal plate is the scale just in front of and covering the cloacal opening. This scale can be either single ("anal entire") or paired ("anal divided"). When paired, the division is oblique.Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G ...

is found immediately in front of the anus, and 38 to 53

subcaudal scales In snakes, the subcaudal scales are the enlarged plates on the underside of the tail. Wright AH, Wright AA (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. Comstock Publishing Associates, a Division of Cornell University Press. (7t ...

are on the lower surface between the anus and the tip of the tail, all or mostly in two rows. The polymorphic variant known as the Stimson's python has much stronger and more variable colours; often being adorned with reddish-brown to chocolate blotches against lighter tan. The

rostral Rostral may refer to: Anatomy * Rostral (anatomical term), situated toward the oral or nasal region * Rostral bone, in ceratopsian dinosaurs * Rostral organ, of certain fish * Rostral scale The rostral scale, or rostral, in snakes and other sca ...

is broader than high, barely visible from above. The internasals are slightly longer than broad and are shorter than the anterior prefrontals. The second pair of prefrontals is in contact at the midline, or is separated by a small shield. These posterior prefrontals are sometimes broken into several shields. The frontal is one and a half times as long as broad, slightly shorter than its distance from the end of the snout, longer than the small parietals. Three to 10 small loreal shields are present, some almost granular, with 11 to 13 upper labials. Three or four of the posterior lower labials have deep pits. The anterior maxillary

teeth A tooth (: teeth) is a hard, calcified structure found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates and used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores and omnivores, also use teeth to help with capturing or wounding prey, tear ...

and anterior mandibular teeth are very long, gradually decreasing in size posteriorly. The premaxillary bone also has teeth.Mehrtens, John M. (1987). ''Living Snakes of the World in Color''. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. .

Geographic range

''A. childreni'' is found in Australia in the extreme north of

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 ...

, the northern third of the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

, and northern

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, and also on the islands of the

Torres Strait The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes ( Kalaw Lagaw Ya#Phonology 2, �zen̪ad̪ kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, ...

. The Stimson's python variant is found throughout an even greater range; it occupies much of the interior of Australia, from Queensland to Perth. The type locality is given by

Gray Grey (more frequent in British English) or gray (more frequent in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning that it has no chroma. It is the color of a cloud-covered s ...

(1842) as "—?", is listed as "N.W. Australia" by Boulenger (1893) in his ''Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I.'', and is listed as "unknown" in Stimson (1969). ''A. childreni'' occurs specifically in the region spanning the coast between the

Kimberleys The Kimberley is the northernmost of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the south by the Great Sandy and Tanami deserts in the region of the Pilbara, and on ...

in Western Australia to

Mount Isa Mount Isa ( ) is a city in the Gulf Country region of Queensland, Australia. It came into existence because of the vast mineral deposits found in the area. Mount Isa Mines (MIM) is one of the most productive mines in world history, based on co ...

in northwestern Queensland.

Habitat

Children's python is found in a variety of natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

s, including

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally o ...

desert A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

, and freshwater

wetlands A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

. In

Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...

the cosmopolitan tick ''Amblyomma limbatum'' has been collected from a Children's python. The peak activity period for the Children's python, as determined from callouts by members of the public to professional snake catchers, in the Darwin region is during the later part of the wet season (February–April). During this period the species is significantly more likely to be encountered in and around open grassland and plains habitats than during other months of the year.

Diet

The diet of Children's python consists of reptiles, birds, and small mammals, particularly

microbat Microbats constitute the suborder Microchiroptera within the order Chiroptera (bats). Bats have long been differentiated into Megachiroptera (megabats) and Microchiroptera, based on their size, the use of echolocation by the Microchiroptera an ...

s, which it catches by dangling from stalactites in caves, which they commonly inhabit, and snatching them out of the air as they fly past.

Reproduction

''A. childreni'' 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 up to 25 eggs per

clutch A clutch is a mechanical device that allows an output shaft to be disconnected from a rotating input shaft. The clutch's input shaft is typically attached to a motor, while the clutch's output shaft is connected to the mechanism that does th ...

. Females brood their eggs through a seven-week incubation period by coiling around them and occasionally shivering to keep them warm, which also affords the eggs some protection from predators. Juveniles are heavily blotched, but gradually become reddish-brown or brown as they mature. The Stimson's variant often becomes more starkly contrasted by comparison as it matures depending on locality. Males in captivity have been seen to fight over females, suggesting these snakes will fight for mates in the wild. However, combat in wild individuals of this species has never been witnessed. When the males fight, they use their spurs to scratch their opponents, and will also strike and bite one another until one submits.

Captivity

Children's python is often kept as a pet worldwide due to its small size, docile temperament, strong feeding response, resiliency and easy captive care. It is often seen as a good beginner species for keeping reptiles, particularly snakes. High levels of hygiene will reduce the risk of disease transfer to pet owners. While not as popular or diverse in colours as ball pythons or other larger species, ''A. childreni'' can range in colour from albino and

leucistic Leucism () is a wide variety of conditions that result in partial loss of pigmentation in an animal—causing white, pale, or patchy coloration of the skin, hair, feathers, scales, or cuticles, but not the eyes. It is occasionally spelled ''leu ...

to ebony, melanistic, ghost, and piebald colour morphs to name a few. The varying colouration between individuals also makes it quite attractive to many who work with and breed exotic reptiles. In captivity, the members of this genus are very tolerant of differing humidity levels ranging from 20%-80% due to the wide range of habitats they occur in, and shedding problems that occur in captive animals are usually the result of temperatures being too high or low rather than problems with humidity. ''Antaresia'' species are also fairly easy to breed, though some individuals (mostly males) may refuse to eat when they are interested in mating. The lifespan of captive specimens has been known to exceed 30 years. Juveniles are fed baby, hairless mice, while larger individuals can be fed on adult mice or small rats. Feeding should occur roughly once a fortnight.