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:'''''Common names:''' (none).''
:'''''Common names:''' (none).''
'''''Aspidites''''' is a [[genus]] of non-venomous [[Pythonidae|python]]s found in [[Australia]]. The name can be translated as "shield bearer" and pertains to their two symmetrically shaped head scales. Currently, 2 [[species]] are recognized.<ref name="ITIS">{{ITIS|ID=209582|taxon=''Aspidites''|year=2007|date=9 September}}</ref>
'''''Aspidites''''' is a [[genus]] of non-venomous [[Pythonidae|python]]s found in [[Australia]]. The name can be translated as "shield bearer" and pertains to their two symmetrically shaped head scales. Currently, 2 [[species]] are recognized, with each having three subspecies.<ref name="ITIS">{{ITIS|ID=209582|taxon=''Aspidites''|year=2007|date=9 September}}</ref>


==Description==
==Description==
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==Taxonomy==
==Taxonomy==
Two new subspecies. ''A. ramsayi panoptes'', the western woma python, and ''A. r. richardjonesii'', the desert woma python, were described by Hoser (2001).<ref name="NRDB">{{NRDB species|genus=Aspidites|species=ramsayi|date=9 September|year=2007}}</ref> However, these descriptions are questionable, as they do not include proper diagnoses and seem to be based only on distribution.<ref name="Wüs01">Wüster W, Bush B, Keogh JS, O'Shea M, Shine R. 2001. Taxonomic contributions in the "amateur" literature: comments on recent descriptions of new genera and species by Raymond Hoser. Litteratura Serpentium 21:67-91. [http://biology.bangor.ac.uk/~bss166/FWit/LittSerp.pdf PDF] at [http://biology.bangor.ac.uk/~bss166/ Wolfgang Wüster]. Accessed [[10 September]] [[2007]].</ref>
Two new subspecies of Woma. ''A. ramsayi panoptes'', the western woma python, and ''A. r. richardjonesii'', the desert woma python, were described by Hoser (2000).<ref name="NRDB">{{NRDB species|genus=Aspidites|species=ramsayi|date=9 September|year=2007}}</ref> Claims by Wuster et. al that the Hoser taxa don't exist have long since been shown to be false.<ref name="Wüs01">Wüster W, Bush B, Keogh JS, O'Shea M, Shine R. 2001. Taxonomic contributions in the "amateur" literature: comments on recent descriptions of new genera and species by Raymond Hoser. Litteratura Serpentium 21:67-91. [http://biology.bangor.ac.uk/~bss166/FWit/LittSerp.pdf PDF] at [http://biology.bangor.ac.uk/~bss166/ Wolfgang Wüster]. Accessed [[10 September]] [[2007]].</ref>
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Revision as of 03:26, 15 April 2008

Aspidites
Black-headed python, A. melanocephalus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Subphylum:
Vertebrata
Class:
Reptilia
Order:
Squamata
Suborder:
Serpentes
Family:
Pythonidae
Genus:
Aspidites

Synonyms
  • Aspidiotes - Krefft, 1864
  • Aspidiotus - Peters, 1876
  • Aspidites - Peters, 1877[1]
Common names: (none).

Aspidites is a genus of non-venomous pythons found in Australia. The name can be translated as "shield bearer" and pertains to their two symmetrically shaped head scales. Currently, 2 species are recognized, with each having three subspecies.[2]

Description

These snakes lack the heat sensitive pits between the labial scales that most other python species have. The head is narrow and the eyes have round pupils.

Geographic range

Found in Australia except in the south of the country.[1]

Behavior

Both species are nocturnal.[3]

Reproduction

Oviparous. The females stay with their eggs until they hatch.

Species

Species[2] Authority[2] Common name[3] Geographic range[1]
A. melanocephalusT (Krefft, 1864) Black-headed python Australia in the northern half of the country, excluding the very arid regions.
A. ramsayi (Macleay, 1882) Woma Australia in the west and center of the country: from Western Australia through southern Northern Territory and northern South Australia to southern Queensland and northwestern New South Wales. Its range may be discontinuous.

*) Not including the nominate subspecies (typical form).
T) Type species.[1]

Taxonomy

Two new subspecies of Woma. A. ramsayi panoptes, the western woma python, and A. r. richardjonesii, the desert woma python, were described by Hoser (2000).[4] Claims by Wuster et. al that the Hoser taxa don't exist have long since been shown to be false.[5] [4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, vol. 1. Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
  2. ^ a b c "Aspidites". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. 9 September. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
  3. ^ a b Mehrtens JM. 1987. Living Snakes of the World in Color. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. ISBN 0-8069-6460-X.
  4. ^ a b Aspidites ramsayi at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 9 September 2007.
  5. ^ Wüster W, Bush B, Keogh JS, O'Shea M, Shine R. 2001. Taxonomic contributions in the "amateur" literature: comments on recent descriptions of new genera and species by Raymond Hoser. Litteratura Serpentium 21:67-91. PDF at Wolfgang Wüster. Accessed 10 September 2007.
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