Woma python
Woma python | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Serpentes |
Family: | Pythonidae |
Genus: | Aspidites |
Species: | A. ramsayi
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Binomial name | |
Aspidites ramsayi (Macleay, 1882)
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Distribution of the woma | |
Synonyms[2] | |
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The woma python (Aspidites ramsayi), also known commonly as Ramsay's python, the sand python,[3][4][5][6] and simply the woma,[7] is a species of snake in the family Pythonidae, endemic to Australia. Once common throughout Western Australia, it has become critically endangered in some regions.
Taxonomy
This is one of two species of Aspidites, the pitless pythons, an Australian genus of the family Pythonidae. The generic name, Aspidites, translates to "shield bearer" in reference to the symmetrically shaped head scales.[10]
Description
Adults of A. ramsayi typically are around 1.5 m (4.5 feet) in total length (including tail). The head is narrow, and the eyes are small. The body is broad and flattish in profile, while the tail tapers to a thin point.
The
The
Aspidites ramsayi may reach a total length of 2.3 m (7.5 ft), with a snout-vent length (SVL) of 2.0 m (6.6 ft).
Snakes of the genus
Distribution and habitat
Aspidites ramsayi lives in the west and center of
The range in Southwest Australia extends from
Conservation status
A. ramsayi is classified as Least Concern on the
The Adelaide Zoo in South Australia is co-ordinating a captive breeding program for the species, and the offspring raised have been released into the Arid Recovery Reserve in the states north with no success due to mulga snake,
Many populations in the southwest of the country, since the 1960s, became critically endangered by altered land use. The sharp decline in numbers, without an authenticated record since 1989, was most notable in the Wheatbelt areas.[3]
Behavior
Aspidites ramsayi is largely nocturnal. By day this snake shelters in hollow logs or under leaf debris. When travelling across hot sands or other surfaces it lifts its body off the ground and reaches far forward before pushing off the ground again, having only a few inches of its body touching the ground at a time.
Feeding
Aspidites ramsayi preys upon a variety of terrestrial vertebrates such as small mammals, ground birds, and lizards. It catches much of its prey in burrows where there is not enough room to maneuver coils around the prey; instead, the woma pushes a loop of its body against the animal to pin it against the side of the burrow. Many adult womas are covered in scars from retaliating rodents as this technique does not kill prey as quickly as normal constriction.[11]
Although this species will take warm-blooded prey when offered, A. ramsayi preys mainly on reptiles. Perhaps due to this, species within the genus Aspidites lack the characteristic heat sensing pits of pythons, although they possess an equivalent sensory structure in the rostral scale.[12]
Reproduction
Aspidites ramsayi is
Captivity
Considered to be more active than many pythons, as well as being a very docile and "easy to handle" snake, the woma is highly sought after in the reptile and exotic pet trade. It is one of the hardiest python species in captivity, often enthusiastically accepting prey and other items. One made headlines in May 2015 for requiring surgery to remove the feeding tongs it had swallowed as well as its meal.[13] This snake will breed in captivity. [citation needed]
References
- ^ . Retrieved 18 November 2021.
- ^ ISBN 1-893777-01-4(volume).
- ^ ISBN 978-1-920694-74-6.
- ^ O'Connor F (2008). Western Australian Reptile Species. Birding Western Australia. Accessed 20 September 2007.
- ^ "Aspidites ramsayi ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 19 September 2007.
- ISBN 0-8069-6460-X.
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T2176A83765377. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T2176A83765377.en. Downloaded on 02 January 2019.
- ISBN 9781845375447.
- ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Aspidites ramsayi, p. 216).
- PMID 23272355.
- ^ "Woma python (Aspidites ramsayi )". arkive.org Archived 2005-07-23 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Westhoff G, Collin SP (2008). A new type of infrared sensitive organ in the python Aspidites sp. (Abstract). Archived July 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine 6th World Congress of Herpetology. Manaus.
- ^ McCurdy, Euan (2015). "Winston the python bites off more than he can chew". (http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/15/asia/python-swallows-barbeque-tongs/
Further reading
- 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). London. xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I-XXVIII. (Aspidites ramsayi, new combination, p. 92).
- ISBN 978-0643100350.
- Macleay W (1882). "Descriptions of two new Snakes". Proc. Linnean Soc. New South Wales (Series 1) 6: 811-813. (Aspidiotes ramsayi, new species, p. 813).
- Wilson, Steve; Swan, Gerry (2013). A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia, Fourth Edition. Sydney: New Holland Publishers. 522 pp. ISBN 978-1921517280.
External links
- Aspidites ramsayi at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 19 September 2007.