Bluff Downs Giant Python
Encyclopedia
The Bluff Downs Giant Python (Liasis sp.) is an extinct genus of snake
from Queensland
, Australia
, that lived during the Pliocene
.
The Bluff Downs Giant Python hunted mammals, birds and reptiles in the woodland
s and vine thickets bordering Australian watercourses during Pliocene times. Its nearest living relative is the Olive Python (Liasis olivacea).
of South America
and the Reticulated Python
of Asia
.
in north-eastern Queensland
.
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
from Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, that lived during the Pliocene
Pliocene
The Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...
.
The Bluff Downs Giant Python hunted mammals, birds and reptiles in the woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
s and vine thickets bordering Australian watercourses during Pliocene times. Its nearest living relative is the Olive Python (Liasis olivacea).
Size
The Bluff Downs Giant Python is estimated to have grown to 10m, making it at least a metre longer than the world's two longest snakes - the AnacondaAnaconda
An anaconda is a large, non-venomous snake found in tropical South America. Although the name actually applies to a group of snakes, it is often used to refer only to one species in particular, the common or green anaconda, Eunectes murinus, which is one of the largest snakes in the world.Anaconda...
of South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
and the Reticulated Python
Reticulated Python
Python reticulatus, also known as the reticulated python is a species of python found in Southeast Asia. Adults can grow to over 8.7 m in length but normally grow to an average of 3-6 m . They are the world's longest snakes and longest reptile, but are not the most heavily built...
of Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
.
Fossils
Fossilised backbones, teeth and rib fragments of the Bluff Downs Python were found in 1992 at Bluff DownsBluff Downs fossil site
The Bluff Downs fossil site is a paleontological site of Pliocene age in northern Queensland, Australia. The fossil site lies on the banks of Allingham Creek on the pastoral property of Bluff Downs Station.-Fossil fauna:...
in north-eastern Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
.
Sources
- Morphology G: Visceral Organs (Biology of the Reptilia, Vol.19) (Biology of the Reptilia, Vol.19) by Carl Gans
- http://www.lostkingdoms.com/facts/factsheet44.htm