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Pythonidae (python)

Reptilia - Pythonidae

Taxonomy
Pythoninae was named by Fitzinger (1826). It is extant.

It was reranked as the family Pythonidae by Cope (1871), Cope (1875), Zittel (1890) and Vidal and Hedges (2002).

It was assigned to Alethinophidia by Fitzinger (1826); to Peropoda by Cope (1871) and Cope (1875); to Ophidia by Zittel (1890); to Boidae by Perrier (1928), Kuhn (1946) and Kuhn (1966); to Henophidia by Vidal and Hedges (2002); to Booidea by Scanlon (2001) and Lee and Scanlon (2002); and to Macrostomata by Longrich et al. (2012).

Synonymy list
YearName and author
1826Pythoninae Fitzinger
1871Pythonidae Cope p. 238
1875Pythonidae Cope p. 21
1890Pythonidae Zittel p. 628
1928Pythoninae Perrier p. 3102
1946Pythoninae Kuhn p. 62
1966Pythoninae Kuhn p. 63
2001Pythoninae Scanlon p. 6
2002Pythoninae Lee and Scanlon
2002Pythonidae Vidal and Hedges p. 983
2012Pythoninae Longrich et al.

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
—Bilateria
—EubilateriaAx 1987
—Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
—Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
—Tetrapoda
—Reptiliomorpha
RankNameAuthor
—Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
—Cotylosauria()
—Amniota
—Sauropsida
classReptilia
—Squamata()
suborderOphidia(Latreille 1804)
—Serpentes(Linnaeus 1758)
infraorderAlethinophidia
—Henophidia
familyPythonidae(Fitzinger 1826)
familyPythonidae(Fitzinger 1826)

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

Fm. Pythonidae Fitzinger 1826 [python]
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G. Liasis Gray 1842
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†Liasis dubudingala Scanlon and Mackness 2002
Liasis olivacea Gray 1842 [olive python]
G. Morelia Gray 1842
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†Morelia riversleighensis Smith and Plane 1985
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Invalid names: Morelia antiqua Smith and Plane 1985 [synonym]
Morelia spilota Lacépède 1804 [carpet python]
Invalid names: Montypythonoides Smith and Plane 1985 [synonym]
Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
E. Perrier 1928Un os supra-orbitaire de chaque côté, entre le pré- et le post-frontal, de part et d'autre du frontal. Plaques sous-caudales le plus souvent bisériées.
Measurements
No measurements are available
Composition: phosphaticsubp
Body part: SVLsubf
Adult length: 1000 to < 10^4subf
Maximum body mass: 300 kgsubf
Minimum body mass: 3 kgsubf
Environment: terrestrialsubf
Locomotion: actively mobilec
Life habit: ground dwellingsubf
Diet: carnivoresubf
Reproduction: oviparoussubf
Created: 2005-09-09 18:05:37
Modified: 2005-09-09 20:05:37
Source: subf = subfamily, c = class, subp = subphylum
References: Greene 1997, Hendy et al. 2009, Carroll 1988

Age range

Maximum range based only on fossils: base of the Chattian to the top of the Holocene or 28.10000 to 0.00000 Ma
Minimum age of oldest fossil (stem group age): 23.03 Ma

Collections (26 total)


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Chattian28.1 - 23.03Australia (Queensland) Montypythonoides riversleighensis (143470) Pythoninae indet. (135706)
Aquitanian - Burdigalian23.03 - 15.97Australia (Queensland) Montypythonoides riversleighensis (183096) Morelia riversleighensis (106497)
Early/Lower Miocene23.03 - 15.97Australia (Queensland) Morelia riversleighensis (134948)
Burdigalian20.44 - 15.97Kenya (Nyanza) Pythonidae indet. (144511)
Burdigalian20.44 - 15.97Australia (Queensland) Morelia riversleighensis (135708)
Langhian15.97 - 13.82Kenya Pythonidae indet. (22069 22071 22078)
Langhian - Serravallian15.97 - 11.62Australia (Queensland) Montypythonoides riversleighensis, Morelia riversleighensis (28420 137790) Morelia spilota (154250)
Middle Miocene15.97 - 11.608Australia (Queensland) Morelia riversleighensis (151091 154234) Morelia sp. (154248)
Middle Miocene15.97 - 11.608Australia (Northern Territory) Morelia antiquus, Morelia riversleighensis (137618)
Tortonian - Zanclean11.62 - 3.6Kenya Pythonidae indet. (22236)
Messinian - Piacenzian7.246 - 2.588Kenya (Turkana District) Pythonidae indet. (21332)
Zanclean5.333 - 3.6Australia (Queensland) Liasis dubudingala (143209 154606 154607) Liasis sp. (51266) Morelia sp. (182159)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117Thailand Pythonidae indet. (176213)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Australia (New South Wales) Morelia spilota (235090)