Children's python

Antaresia childreni
Conservation status
Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Pythonidae
Genus:	Antaresia
Species:	A. childreni
Binomial name
Antaresia childreni (Gray, 1842)

Children's Python^[1] (Antaresia childreni) is a non-venomous python species found in Australia. Children's Python gains its name because it was identified by scientist John George Children.

Description

A. childreni, young male

A. childreni: rainbow sheen

Adults grow to an average length of about 1m (~3ft), with a maximum of 1.5m (~5ft). The crown scales are enlarged while those on the body are small and smooth, with a rainbow sheen that can be seen when exposed to direct sunlight.

Geographic range

Found in Australia in the extreme north of Western Australia, the northern third of Northern Territory, and northeastern Queensland. Also on the islands of the Torres Strait. The type locality given is "?" Listed as "N.W. Australia" in the catalogue of the British Museum of Natural History and as unknown in Stimson (1969).^[2]

It occurs specifically in the region spanning along the coast between the Kimberleys in Western Australia to Mount Isa in northwestern Queensland.

Diet

The diet consists of reptiles, birds and small mammals, particularly microbats which they catch by dangling from stalactites in caves, which they commonly inhabit, and snatch them out of the air as they fly past.

Reproduction

Oviparous, with up to 25 eggs per clutch. Female brood their eggs through a seven week incubation period by coiling around them and occasionally shivering to keep them warm, which also affords the eggs some protection from predators. Juveniles are heavily blotched, but gradually become reddish brown or brown as they mature.

Captivity

Often kept as a pet due to its good nature and less demanding requirements. The lifespan of captive specimens has been known to exceed 30 years. Juvenile are fed on pinky mice (baby, hairless mice), while larger individuals can be fed on adult mice or small rats. Feeding should occur roughly once a fortnight.

Taxonomy

One of two species of Antaresia, a genus of the Pythonidae family named after the star Antares. John Edward Gray published a description of the species in 1842, naming it Liasis childreni. The specific epithet, conserved in the current name, is in honour of Gray's mentor, John George Children, a curator of the zoological collection at the British Museum around that time. No subspecies are currently recognized.^[3] The snake has previously been described as a species of Liasis and Morelia.^[2]

See also

• List of pythonid species and subspecies
• Pythonidae, valid scientific names
• Pythonidae by taxonomic synonyms

References

1. ^ Mehrtens JM. 1987. Living Snakes of the World in Color. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. ISBN 0-8069-6460-X.
2. ^ ^{a b} 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).
3. ^ "Antaresia childreni". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=634764. Retrieved 19 September 2007. 

• "IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/search.php?freetext=Antaresia+childreni&modifier=phrase&criteria=wholedb&taxa_species=1&redlistCategory%5B%5D=all&country%5B%5D=all&cty_default=1&aquatic%5B%5D=all&aqu_default=1&regions%5B%5D=all&reg_default=1&habitats%5B%5D=all&threats%5B%5D=all&redlistAssessyear%5B%5D=all&growths%5B%5D=all. Retrieved 2008-09-06. ^{[dead link]}

External links

A. childreni

• Antaresia childreni at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 19 September 2007.
• Children's Python (Antaresia childreni) at Antaresia.com. Accessed 4 May 2008.
• Antaresia pythons - breeding cycle at Antaresia.com. Accessed 4 May 2008.
• Children's Python Care Sheet at tinypythons.com. Accessed 19 September 2007.
• Children's Python fact sheet at Burke's Backyard. Accessed 19 September 2007.
• Reptile keeper's licence at NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. Accessed 19 September 2007.
• Children's Python care sheet Accessed 31 July 2011.