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.
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Python (genus)
- Common names: pythons.[2]
Python, from the Greek word (πύθων/πύθωνας), which in turn is from the Hebrew word פתן (Peten) or the Cnaanite בת'ן (Bethen)[citation needed], is a genus of nonvenomous pythons found in Africa, Asia and Australia. 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
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]
P. molurus and P. sebae are both invasive species in North America, and they are becoming quite abundant in South Florida and the Everglades.[3]
Species
| 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 | 2 | Short-tailed 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. molurusT | (Linnaeus, 1758) | 1 | Indian python | Pakistan, India, 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). |
| 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.[4] |
*) Not including the nominate subspecies.
T) Type species.[1]
Uses
Python skin is used to manufacture the Erhu, a popular Chinese instrument.
See also
- List of pythonid species and subspecies
- Pythonidae by common name
- Pythonidae by taxonomic synonyms
References
- ^ 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. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=202186. Retrieved 11 September 2007.
- ^ Python Snakes, An Invasive Species In Florida, Could Spread To One Third Of US at ScienceDaily. Accessed 18 October 2008.
- ^ "Annotated checklist of the recent and extinct pythons". http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3088416/.
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