''Morelia spilota mcdowelli'' is a subspecies of '' Morelia spilota'', commonly known as the carpet python, and is informally named the eastern, coastal, or McDowell's carpet python. The original description and name were published by Wells and Wellington in 1984. It occurs along the northeastern coast of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and in New Guinea.

Description

This subspecies of ''M. spilota'' attains lengths of 2.7–3.0 m (9–10 feet). Dorsally, they are generally olive brown to tan in color with paler blotches and stripes, though pattern and colour are highly variable. Midbody scales are in 40-60 rows. They have a single anal scale and their subcaudal scales are divided. Most of the head scales are small, beadlike, and arranged irregularly.

Habitat and range

They are widespread in Australia in eastern Queensland and northeastern New South Wales. The

type locality Type locality may refer to: * Type locality (biology) * Type locality (geology) See also * Local (disambiguation) * Locality (disambiguation) {{disambiguation ...

given is "Terania Creek, N.S.W." (New South Wales, Australia). They may be encountered on the ground, draped across boughs of trees, or coiled up in undergrowth. They are frequently found residing in the roofs of houses even in well-settled suburban areas,

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

, wet or dry eucalypt forest, heathland, pasture, and

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

and urban areas.

Notes

They are active by day or night (

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

and diurnal), feeding mainly on "

warm blooded Warm-blooded is an informal term referring to animal species which can maintain a body temperature higher than their environment. In particular, homeothermy, homeothermic species maintain a stable body temperature by regulating metabolic proce ...

" prey such as possums,

rat Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include ''Neotoma'' ( pack rats), ''Bandicota'' (bandicoot ...

s, flying foxes, and birds, and occasionally poultry,

domestic cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members o ...

s, and small dogs. Attempts at eating cane toads are fatal. They sometimes exhibit unpredictable and aggressive behavior. Bites do not result in en venomization, but can cause lacerations. Tetanus protection is recommended.

Taxonomy

The species was placed in synonymy by Underwood and Stimson (1990).

Eggs and incubation period

This large species of python can lay up to 35 eggs, around which the female coils herself, and if the eggs are removed and incubated at 84-86°F, the young emerge after 65-70 days.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q6911326 Morelia (snake) Snakes of Australia