D'Albertis' python (''Leiopython albertisii''), also known commonly as D'Albert's water python or the northern white-lipped python, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

python Python may refer to: Snakes * Pythonidae, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia ** ''Python'' (genus), a genus of Pythonidae found in Africa and Asia * Python (mythology), a mythical serpent Computing * Python (pro ...

, a non-

venomous snake Venomous snakes are species of the suborder Serpentes that are capable of producing venom, which they use for killing prey, for defense, and to assist with digestion of their prey. The venom is typically delivered by injection using hollow or g ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Pythonidae The Pythonidae, commonly known as pythons, are a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia. Among its members are some of the largest snakes in the world. Ten genera and 42 species are currently recognized. Distributi ...

. The species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid.

Geographic range and habitat

''L. albertisii'' is found in most of New Guinea below , including the islands of

Salawati Salawati is one of the four major islands in the Raja Ampat Islands in Southwest Papua (formerly West Papua), Indonesia. Its area is 1,623 km2. Salawati is separated from New Guinea to the southeast by the Sele Strait (a.k.a. Galowa Str ...

and

Biak Biak is an island located in Cenderawasih Bay near the northern coast of Papua, an Indonesian province, and is just northwest of New Guinea. Biak is the largest island in its small archipelago, and has many atolls, reefs, and corals. The large ...

, Normanby,

Mussau Mussau Island is the largest island of St Matthias Islands, Papua New Guinea, at . It is currently part of the New Ireland Province of Papua New Guinea. The island is a noted Biodiversity hotspot with pristine primeval Rainforest Rainforest ...

and

Emirau Emirau Island, also called Emira, is an island in the Bismarck Archipelago located at . It is currently part of the New Ireland Province of Papua New Guinea. The local language is a dialect of the Mussau-Emira language. Emira is part of what on ...

, as well as a few islands in the

Torres Strait The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost extremity of the Australian mai ...

. The type locality given is "''Kapaor in Nova Guinea boreali occidentali ... et prope Andai'' ". The authors also stated localities for two additional specimens: "''... un esemplare a Kapaor fra i Papua Onin...''" and "''... un secondo esemplare ad Andai presso Dorei...''" (= Kapoar, Onin Peninsula and Andai, near Dorei, Irian Jaya, Indonesia). McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré TA (1999). ''Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1''. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. (series). (volume). Some doubt can be cast on its occurrence on Normanby, as McDowell (1975) McDowell SB (1975). "A catalogue of the snakes of New Guinea and the Solomon’s, with special Reference to Those in the Bernice P. Bishop Museum. Part II". (24.02.1975). ''Journal of Herpetology'' 9 (1): 1-79. had erroneously assigned Bara Bara to this island, rather than to the mainland of

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

Milne Bay Province Milne Bay is a province of Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Alotau. The province covers 14,345 km² of land and 252,990 km² of sea, within the province there are more than 600 islands, about 160 of which are inhabited. The province has ...

as stated by Boulenger (1898) Boulenger GA (1898)
"An account of the reptiles and batrachians collected by Dr. L. Loria in British New Guinea"
''Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova'', Series 2, 18: 694-710. and Koopman (1982). Koopman KF (1982). "Results of the Archibold Expedition No. 109. Bats from Eastern Papua and the East Papua Islands". ''American Museum Novitates'' (2747): 1-34.

Etymology

The specific name, ''albertisii'', is in honor of Italian explorer

Luigi D'Albertis Luigi Maria D'Albertis (21 November 1841 – 2 September 1901) was an Italian naturalist and explorer who, in 1875, became the first Italian to chart the Fly River in what is now called Papua New Guinea. He undertook three voyages up this river ...

. Peters W, Doria G (1878). "''Catalogo dei rettili e dei batraci raccolti da O. Beccari, L. M. D'Albertis e A. A. Bruijn nella sotto-regione austro-malese'' ". ''Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova'', Series 1, 13: 323-450. ("''Liasis Albertisii'' ", new species, pp. 401-403 + Plate III, Figure 2). (in Italian and Latin). Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Leiopython albertisii'', p. 64; ''L. bennettorum'', p. 22).

Description

Female adults of ''L. albertisii'' grow to an average of about 213 cm (6–7 ft) in total length (including tail). Both sexes are patternless, except for some light markings on the

postoculars In Squamata, scaled reptiles, the ocular scales are those forming the margin of the eye.Wright AH, Wright AA. 1957. ''Handbook of Snakes''. Comstock Publishing Associates (7th printing, 1985). 1105 pp. . The name originates from the term ''oculus ...

. The dorsum of the head is shiny black, and the upper and lower

labial scales The labial scales are the scales of snakes and other scaled reptiles that border the mouth opening. These do not include the median scales on the upper and lower jawsWright AH, Wright AA. 1957. Handbook of Snakes. Comstock Publishing Associates ( ...

are white with black markings on the anterior edge of the scales. Body color is either brownish-violet fading to yellowish ventrally or blackish-blue fading to gray.

Behavior

Although mostly terrestrial, ''L. albertisii'' can and is known to occasionally climb. Cold Blood Creations. White-lipped pythons are reportedly aggressive, though this is reduced in those born and raised in captivity. ''L. albertisii'' also has been observed to regularly regurgitate fur balls from its prey.

Diet

The diet of ''L. albertisii'' includes a range of small-sized to medium-sized birds and mammals. Mehrtens JM (1987). ''Living Snakes of the World in Color''. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. . Neonates and juveniles often feed on lizards. Heat sensitive pits in the upper and lower jaws are used to help locate prey during nocturnal hunting.

Reproduction

''L. albertisii'' is oviparous. A sexually mature female may lay a clutch of about a dozen eggs. The eggs stick together in a compact pile, and the female coils around them. The hatchlings emerge after about two months of incubation and are about in length.