Evolution and Systematics
Functional Adaptations
Functional adaptation
The jaws of pythons allow the snakes to swallow huge prey because of their multibar linkages.
"We mammals make no great use of multibar linkages, but a lot of other vertebrates depend on them. The most famous are snakes that can swallow items of prey whose diameters and cross sections exceed those of themselves. How pythons (genus Python) manage was carefully analyzed by Frazzetta (1966), who regarded their skull and jaws as linkages with no fewer than eight bars. Such snakes use two such linkages, one on each side of the head, with a lot of flexibility in between. The setup permits the mouth to gape sufficiently to accommodate huge prey, which then get digested at leisure." (Vogel 2003:400-401)
Learn more about this functional adaptation.
- Steven Vogel. 2003. Comparative Biomechanics: Life's Physical World. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 580 p.
- Frazetta, TH. 1966. Studies on the morphology and function of the skull in the Boidae (Serpentes). Part II: morphology and function of the jaw apparatus in Python sebae and Python molurus. Journal of Morphology. 118: 217-295.
© The Biomimicry Institute
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Molecular Biology and Genetics
Molecular Biology
Statistics of barcoding coverage
| Specimen Records: | 8 | Public Records: | 4 |
| Specimens with Sequences: | 15 | Public Species: | 2 |
| Specimens with Barcodes: | 6 | Public BINs: | 2 |
| Species: | 4 | ||
| Species With Barcodes: | 4 | ||
© Barcode of Life Data Systems
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Barcode data
© Barcode of Life Data Systems
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Locations of barcode samples
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Wikipedia
Python (genus)
Python, from the Greek word (πύθων/πύθωνας), is a genus of nonvenomous pythons[2] found in Africa and Asia. Currently, 7 species are recognised.[2] A member of this genus, P. reticulatus, is among the longest snakes known.
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Geographic range [edit]
Found in Africa in the tropics south of the Sahara, but not in southern Africa, the extreme southwestern tip, or in Madagascar. In Asia it is found from Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, including the Nicobar Islands, through Myanmar, east to Indochina, southern China, Hong Kong and Hainan, as well as in the Malayan region of Indonesia and the Philippines.[1]
Some suggest that P. molurus and P. sebae have the potential to be problematic invasive species in South Florida.[3] The United States Department of Agriculture reports that only Python molurus bivittatus is an invasive species in the United States.[4] More recent data suggests that these pythons would not withstand winter climates north of Florida, contradicting previous research suggesting a more significant geographic potential range.[5][6][7]
Species [edit]
| Species[2] | Taxon author[2] | Subsp.*[2] | Common name | Geographic range[1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P. anchietae | Bocage, 1887 | 0 | Angolan python | Africa in southern Angola and northern Namibia. |
| P. curtus | Schlegel, 1872 | 0 | Sumatran python | Southeast Asia in southern Thailand, Malaysia (Peninsular and Sarawak) (including Pinang) and Indonesia (Sumatra, Riau Archipelago, Lingga Islands, Bangka Islands, Mentawai Islands and Kalimantan). |
| P. bivittatus | Kuhl, 1820 | 0 | Burmese Python | S Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, S China (S Yunnan east to Fujian, incl. Hainan and Hong Kong; Sichuan, Guangxi, Guangdong), Indonesia (Java, Bali) |
| P. brongersmai | Pauwels, 2000 | 0 | Red blood python | Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Bangka Island, Lingga islands, Riau islands, and Pinang |
| P. breitensteini | Pauwels, 2000 | 0 | Borneo Short-tailed python | Borneo, including Sarawak |
| P. molurusT | (Linnaeus, 1758) | 1 | Indian python | Pakistan, India, Florida, Sri Lanka, southern Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, southern China, (Sichuan and Yunnan east to Fujian, Hainan, Hong Kong), Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Peninsula Malaysia and Indonesia (Java, Sumbawa, Sulawesi). |
| P. regius | (Shaw, 1802) | 0 | Ball Python/ Royal Python | Africa from Senegal, Mali, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Benin, Niger and Nigeria through Cameroon, Chad and the Central African Republic to Sudan and Uganda. |
| P. reticulatus | (Schneider, 1801) | 0 | Reticulated python | Southeast Asia from the Nicobar Islands, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, east through Indonesia and the Indo-Australian Archipelago (Sumatra, Mentawai Islands, Natuna Islands, Borneo, Sulawesi, Java, Lombok, Sumbawa, Sumba, Flores, Timor, Maluku, Tanimbar Islands) and the Philippines (Basilan, Bohol, Cebu, Leyte, Luzon, Mindanao, Mindoro, Negros, Palawan, Panay, Polillo, Samar, Tawi-Tawi). |
| P. sebae | (Gmelin, 1788) | 1 | African rock python | Africa south of the Sahara from Senegal east to Ethiopia and Somalia, including Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Upper Volta, Ghana, Togo, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, Rwanda, Burundi, Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe south to northern Namibia, Botswana and northeastern South Africa (to Natal, Florida). |
| P. timoriensis | (Peters, 1876) | 0 | Timor python | Indonesia on the Lesser Sunda Islands (Flores, Lombien and Timor Islands). |
| P. europaeus† | Syzndlar & Rage, 2003 | 0 | - | Remains found in present day France.[8] |
*) Not including the nominate subspecies.
T) Type species.[1]
Uses [edit]
Python skin is used to make clothing such as vests, belts, boots, shoes or fashion accessories such as handbags. It may also be used to cover the sound board of some string musical instruments, such as the banhu, sanxian or the sanshin.
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ 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).
- ^ a b c d e "Python". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 11 September 2007.
- ^ Python Snakes, An Invasive Species In Florida, Could Spread To One Third Of US at ScienceDaily. Accessed 18 October 2008.
- ^ http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/animals/main.shtml
- ^ Avery, M. L., Engeman, R. M., Keacher, K. L., Humphrey, J. S., Bruce, W. E., Mathies, T. C., & Mauldin, R. E. (2010). Cold weather and the potential range of invasive Burmese pythons. Biological invasions, 12(11), 3649-3652.http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/animals/main.shtml
- ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burmese_Python#Invasive_species
- ^ Python Snakes, An Invasive Species In Florida, Could Spread To One Third Of US
- ^ "Annotated checklist of the recent and extinct pythons".
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