http://debianws.lexgopc.com/wiki143/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Amethystine_pythonAmethystine python - Revision history2026-10-25T23:48:55ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.1http://debianws.lexgopc.com/wiki143/index.php?title=Amethystine_python&diff=3504138&oldid=prev125.239.147.0: Minor tweaks to reduce confusion with the Australian scrub python, which was once synonymous with this species.2025-06-29T23:32:48Z<p>Minor tweaks to reduce confusion with the Australian scrub python, which was once synonymous with this species.</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Species of snake}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}<br />
{{For|the Australian snake sometimes confused with this species|Australian scrub python}} {{Other uses|Scrub python (disambiguation){{!}}Scrub python}}<br />
{{Speciesbox<br />
| image = High-Yellow Sorong Amethystine Scrub Python.jpg<br />
| status = LC<br />
| status_system = IUCN3.1<br />
| status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{cite iucn|author=Tallowin, O.|author-link=species:Oliver J.S. Tallowin |author2= Allison, A.|author2-link=species:Allen Allison |author3=Parker, F. |author3-link=species:Frederick Stanley Parker |author4=O'Shea, M. |author4-link=species:Mark O'Shea |year=2017 |title=''Morelia amethistina'' |page= e.T177501A1489667 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T177501A1489667.en |access-date=28 November 2023}}</ref><br />
| genus = Simalia<br />
| species = amethistina<br />
| authority = ([[Johann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider|Schneider]], 1801)<br />
| range_map = Distribution of Morelia amtehistina-complex.jpg<br />
| range_map_caption = Range shown as dark orange and bright orange regions<br />
| synonyms = *[''Boa''] ''Amethistina'' <br />{{small|Schneider, 1801}}<br />
*''Python amethystinus'' <br />{{small|— [[François Marie Daudin|Daudin]], 1803}}<br />
*[''Constrictor''] ''amethystina'' <br />{{small|— [[Johann Georg Wagler|Wagler]], 1830}}<br />
*''Boa amethystina'' <br />{{small|— Wagler, 1830}}<br />
*''Python amethystinus'' <br />{{small|— [[Hermann Schlegel|Schlegel]], 1837}}<br />
*[''Boa Python''] ''amethystinus'' <br />{{small|— Schlegel, 1837}}<br />
*''Liasis amethystinus'' <br />{{small|— [[John Edward Gray|Gray]], 1842}}<br />
*''Liasis amethystinus'' <br />{{small|— [[André Marie Constant Duméril|A.M.C. Duméril]] & [[Gabriel Bibron|Bibron]], 1844}}<br />
*''Liasis'' (''Simalia'') ''amethystinus'' <br />{{small|— Gray, 1849}}<br />
*''Aspidopython Jakati'' <br />{{small|[[Adolf Bernhard Meyer|A. Meyer]], 1874}}<br />
*''Liasis amethystinus'' <br />{{small|— [[Wilhelm Peters|W. Peters]] & [[Giacomo Doria|Doria]], 1878}}<br />
*''Liasis duceboracensis'' <br />{{small|[[Albert Günther|Günther]], 1879}}<br />
*''Hypaspistes dipsadides'' <br />{{small|[[James Douglas Ogilby|Ogilby]], 1891}}<br />
*''Python amethystinus'' <br />{{small|— [[George Albert Boulenger|Boulenger]], 1893}}<br />
*''Liasis clarki'' <br />{{small|[[Thomas Barbour|Barbour]], 1914}}<br />
*''Liasis a''[''methistinus'']. ''amethistinus'' <br />{{small|— [[Olive Griffith Stull|Stull]], 1933}}<br />
<!-- *''Liasis amethistinus kinghorni'' <br />{{small|Stull, 1933}} --><br />
*''Liasis amethistinus'' <br />{{small|— [[Leo Brongersma|Brongersma]], 1953}}<br />
<!-- *''Liasis amethystinus kinghorni'' <br />{{small|— Kinghorn, 1956}} --><br />
*''Liasis amethystinus amethystinus'' <br />{{small|— [[James Roy Kinghorn|Kinghorn]], 1956}}<br />
*''Liasis amethistinus'' <br />{{small|— Stimson, 1969}}<br />
*''Python amethistinus'' <br />{{small|— McDowell, 1975}}<br />
*''Morelia amethistina'' <br />{{small|— [[Harold Cogger|H.G. Cogger]], [[species:Elizabeth E. Cameron|Cameron]] & <br />[[species:Heather M. Cogger|H.M. Cogger]], 1983}}<br />
*''Australiasis amethistinus'' <br />{{small|— [[Richard Walter Wells|Wells]] & [[Cliff Ross Wellington|Wellington]], 1984}}<br />
<!-- *''Australiasis kinghorni'' <br />{{small|— Wells & Wellington, 1984}} --><br />
*''Morelia amethistina'' <br />{{small|— [[:fr:Garth Underwood|Underwood]] & [[species:Andrew Francis Stimson|Stimson]], 1990}}<br />
*''M''[''orelia'']. ''amethistina'' <br />{{small|— [[Arnold G. Kluge|Kluge]], 1993}}<br />
*''Morelia amethystina'' <br />{{small|— [[David G. Barker|D. Barker]] & [[Tracy M. Barker|T. Barker]], 1994}}<br />
*''Morelia amethistina amethistina'' <br />{{small|— [[Mark O'Shea (herpetologist)|O'Shea]], 1996}}<ref name="McD99">[[species:Roy Wallace McDiarmid|McDiarmid RW]], [[Jonathan A. Campbell|Campbell JA]], [[species:T'Shaka A. Touré|Touré TA]] (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). <br />
{{ISBN|1-893777-01-4}} (volume).</ref><br />
*''Simalia amethistina'' <br />{{small|— [[species:Robert Graham Reynolds|Reynolds]] et al., 2014}}<ref>{{EMBL species|genus=Simalia|species=amethistina}}. www.reptile-database.org.</ref><br />
}}<br />
<br />
The '''amethystine python''' ('''''[[Simalia]] amethistina''''', formerly known as '''''Morelia amethistina'''''), also known as the '''scrub python''' or '''''sanca permata''''' in [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]], is a [[species]] of non-[[venomous snake]] in the [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Pythonidae]]. The species is found in [[Indonesia]] and [[Papua New Guinea]]. Popular among reptile enthusiasts, and noted for its coloration and size, it is one of the [[List of largest snakes|largest snakes in the world]], as measured either by length or weight, and is the largest native snake in Papua New Guinea. Until 2000, the larger Australian species ''[[Simalia kinghorni|S.&nbsp;kinghorni]]'' was generally considered a subspecies of ''S.&nbsp;amethistina'', and this change of classification has still not been universally reflected in literature. Because of this issue, ''S.&nbsp;amethistina'' has often been described as the largest snake in Australia, but this is not accurate since under the current classification, this species does not occur in Australia.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jcu.edu.au/reptilelab/public/groups/everyone/documents/journal_article/jcutst_055702.pdf |title=Giant snakes in tropical forests: a field study of Australian scrub pythons |author1=Fearn, S. |author1-link=species:Simon Fearn |author2=Schwarzkopf, L. |author3-link=Richard Shine |author3=Shine, R. |publisher=CSIRO Publishing / Wildlife Research |access-date=2013-01-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927071210/http://www.jcu.edu.au/reptilelab/public/groups/everyone/documents/journal_article/jcutst_055702.pdf |archive-date=27 September 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref><br />
<br />
==Taxonomy==<br />
Formerly, five [[subspecies]] of ''Morelia amethistina'', including the nominate race, ''M. a. amethystina'', were generally recognized. The [[Moluccan Islands]] (including [[Halmahera]], [[Ternate]] and [[Tidore]]) are home to the former ''M. a. tracyae''. The [[Tanimbar Islands]] are home to a smaller subspecies, the former ''M. a. nauta''. On the island of [[Seram]], the former ''M. a. clastolepis'' can be found. On mainland of [[Papua New Guinea]] (including the Indonesian western half, once called Irian Jaya—now [[West Papua (province)|West Papua]]), and many of its nearby offshore islands, the former ''M. a. amethystina'' is quite common. In Australia, the former ''M. a. kinghorni'' is represented.<ref name="ITIS">{{ITIS |id=634775 |taxon=''Morelia amethistina'' |access-date=18 September 2007}}</ref> American biologist Michael Harvey and colleagues investigated the amethystine python complex and recognised five separate species{{snd}} ''Simalia amethistina'', ''[[Simalia clastolepis]]'', ''[[Simalia kinghorni]]'', ''[[Simalia nauta]]'', and ''[[Simalia tracyae]]''{{snd}} based on cladistic analysis of cytochrome b sequences and morphology.<ref name="Harvey2000">{{cite journal |first1=Michael B. |last1=Harvey |author1-link=species:Michael Brown Harvey |first2=David G. |last2=Barker |author2-link=David G. Barker |first3=Loren K. |last3=Ammerman |author3-link=species:Loren K. Ammerman |first4=Paul T. |last4=Chippindale |author4-link=species:Paul T. Chippindale |title=Systematics of Pythons of the ''Morelia amethistina'' Complex (Serpentes: Boidae) with the Description of three new Species |journal=Herpetological Monographs |volume=14 |year=2000 |pages=139–185|doi=10.2307/1467047| jstor=1467047 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/256197534}}</ref> In 2014 cladistic analysis of nuclear and mitochondrial genes of pythons and boas, R. Graham Reynolds and colleagues supported the distinctness of ''M. tracyae'', ''M. amethistina'', and ''M. clastolepis'', but were less confident of ''M. kinghorni'' and ''M. nauta''.<ref name="Reyn01">{{cite journal |last1=Reynolds |first1=R. Graham |author1-link=species:Robert Graham Reynolds |last2=Niemiller |first2=Matthew L. |author2-link=species:Matthew L. Niemiller |last3=Revell |first3=Liam J. |author3-link=species:Liam J. Revell |title=Toward a tree-of-life for the boas and pythons: multilocus species-level phylogeny with unprecedented taxon sampling |year=2014 |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |volume=71 |pages=201–213 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2013.11.011 | pmid= 24315866|bibcode=2014MolPE..71..201G | url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259246220}}</ref><br />
<br />
According to McDiarmid ''et al.'' (1999), all cases in which the [[Specific name (zoology)|specific name]] was spelled with a ''y'' follow Daudin's (1803) ''Python amethystinus'' and are therefore unjustified emendations.<ref name="McD99"/> The [[Specific name (zoology)|specific name]], ''amethistina'', is an allusion to the milky iridescent sheen on its scales, which gives it an [[amethyst]]-like colour.<br />
<br />
==Description==<br />
Specimens of ''S. amethistina'' have reportedly been measured at more than {{cvt|5.5|m|ft|1}} in total length (including tail), but this is exceptional, as {{cvt|4|m|ft}} specimens are already considered extremely large. Although the amethystine python is smaller than the [[Australian scrub python]], some sources claim that ''S. amethistina'' is able to reach lengths of {{convert|6|m|ft|abbr=on}}, with a weight up to {{cvt|27|kg}}<ref name="Daniel Natusch">{{Cite journal|first1=Daniel |last1=Natusch |first2=Jessica |last2=Lyons |first3=Richard |last3=Shine |year=2022|journal=[[Scientific Reports]] |title=Spatial ecology, activity patterns, and habitat use by giant pythons (''Simalia amethistina'') in tropical Australia|volume=12|issue=1|page=5274 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359517466|doi=10.1038/s41598-022-09369-5 |pmid=35347214 |pmc=8960824 |bibcode=2022NatSR..12.5274N }}</ref> and perhaps even {{cvt|30|kg}}.<ref>{{cite journal|first1=Daniel |last1=Natusch |first2=Jessica |last2=Lyons |first3=Lea-Ann |last3=Mears|first4=Richard |last4=Shine |year=2021 |publisher=Department of Biological Sciences, [[Macquarie University]] |title=Biting off more than you can chew: attempted predation on a human by a giant snake (''Simalia amethistina'') |url=https://research-management.mq.edu.au/ws/portalfiles/portal/167828778/134330879_AAM.pdf |journal=[[Austral Ecology]] |volume=46 |number=1 |pages=159–162 |doi=10.1111/aec.12956 |bibcode=2021AusEc..46..159N |s2cid=225105592 }}<!-- This article refers to the "Australian scrub python", and talks about it being in Cape York, but calls it S. amethistina, which seems to mean it is really referring to S. kinghorni. S. kinghorni is not explicitly mentioned in the article at all (except in the keywords, which is strange). --></ref> <br />
<br />
The smooth [[dorsal scales]] are arranged in 39–53 rows at midbody. There are deep, heat-sensing pits on six or seven of the posterior lower labials.<ref>[[George Albert Boulenger|Boulenger GA]] (1893). ''Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families ... Boidæ ...'' London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I–XXVIII. (''Python amethystinus'', pp. 83–84).</ref><br />
<br />
==Distribution and habitat==<br />
The Amethystine python is found in Indonesia ([[Maluku Islands]], [[Tanimbar Islands|Timur Laut Islands]], [[Banda Islands|Banda]], [[Kai Islands]], [[Aru Islands]], [[Misool]], [[Salawati]], most of [[Western New Guinea]], many islands in [[Cenderawasih Bay|Geelvink Bay]], such as Biak, Numfor, Yapen, and Supiori), and [[Papua New Guinea]] (including [[Umboi Island]], [[Bismarck Archipelago]], [[Trobriand Islands]], the [[d'Entrecasteaux Islands]] to [[Rossel Island (Yela)|Rossel Island]], [[Louisiade Archipelago]]). The [[Type locality (biology)|type locality]] is unknown.<ref name="McD99"/><br />
<br />
''S. amethistina'' occurs in both [[bushland]] and [[suburb]]ia. In Indonesia, it is found mostly in [[rainforest]]s. Warm, humid [[habitat]]s with good water sources are preferred. In New Guinea, it mostly lives in [[Shrubland|scrublands]].<br />
<br />
==Feeding==<br />
The diet of the amethystine python generally consists of [[bird]]s, [[bat]]s, [[rat]]s, [[Phalangeriformes|possums]], and other small mammals.<ref>{{cite web |title=Amethystine Python |url=https://www.reptilerange.com/amethystine-python/ |website=Reptile Range |access-date=10 August 2022}}</ref> Larger Papuan specimens catch and eat [[Wallaby|wallabies]], and [[cuscus]], waiting by creek and river [[Bank (geography)|bank]]s for prey seeking drinking water.<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
<br />
==Further reading==<br />
*[[Johann Gottlob Schneider|Schneider JG]] (1801). ''Historiae Amphibiorum naturalis et literariae Fasciculus Secundus continens Crocodilos, Scincos, Chamaesauras, Boas, Pseudoboas, Elapes, Angues, Amphisbaenas et Caecilias''. Jena: F. Frommann. vi + 364 pp. + Plates I–II. (''"[Boa] Amethistina"'', new species, p.&nbsp;254). (in Latin).<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
{{Commons}}<br />
*{{NRDB species|genus=Simalia|species=amethistina|date=14 February|year=2019}}<br />
<br />
{{Pythonidae}}<br />
{{Taxonbar|from=Q186275}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Morelia (snake)]]<br />
[[Category:Reptiles described in 1801]]<br />
[[Category:Reptiles of Queensland]]<br />
[[Category:Reptiles of Indonesia]]<br />
[[Category:Reptiles of Papua New Guinea]]<br />
[[Category:Snakes of New Guinea]]<br />
[[Category:Snakes of Australia]]<br />
[[Category:Reptiles as pets]]<br />
[[Category:Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN]]<br />
[[Category:Apex predators]]<br />
<!-- Simalia amethistina --></div>125.239.147.0