Post by Ceratodromeus on Jan 5, 2016 9:25:50 GMT 5
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Pythonidae
Genus: Python
Species: Python kyaiktiyo
Description
Like other members of the "Python Curtus species complex", the myanmar short tailed python is a large, very heavy bodied species of terrestrial python. The holotype specimen(USNM 572046) is an adult female measuring 1.4m(4.5ft) in snout-ventral length, with a tail length of 11.8cm(4.6in), giving it a total body length of 1.52m(4.9ft), and weighed 3.6kg(7.9lbs){1}. It is distinguishable from Others of this species complex by possessing 180+ ventral scales, and the presence of a post-ocular scale. The natural history of these snakes is little understood, but studies done by Richard Shine in the 90s on harvested Asian pythons showed that the blood pythons diet primarily consists of small mammals and occasionally birds. These species are sexually dimorphic, with females being larger then the males.
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{1}Pythons in Burma: Short-tailed python(Reptilia: Squamata)
Abstract
Short-tailed pythons, Python curtus species group, occur predominantly in the Malayan Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo. The discovery of an adult female in Mon State, Myanmar, led to a review of the distribution of all group members (spot-mapping of all localities of confirmed occurrence) and an examination of morphological variation in P. brongersmai. The resulting maps demonstrate a limited occurrence of these pythons within peninsular Malaya, Sumatra, and Borneo with broad absences in these regions. Our small samples limit the recognition of regional differentiation in the morphology of P. brongersmai populations; however, the presence of unique traits in the Myanmar python and its strong allopatry indicate that it is a unique genetic lineage, and it is described as Python kyaiktiyo new species.
