Common names: olive python.

Liasis olivaceus is a non-venomous python species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 found in 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...

. Two subspecies

Subspecies

Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...

 are currently recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here.

Description

With adults reaching over 4 m in length, this is Australia's second largest snake species. Its high midbody dorsal scale count, 61-72, makes the skin look smoother than that of other pythons. The number of ventral scales is 355-377. The color pattern is a uniform chocolate brown to olive green while the belly is usually cream colored.

Unfortunately, this species is occasionally confused with the venomous king brown snake, Pseudechis australis

Pseudechis australis

Pseudechis australis, the common King Brown, Mulga snake or Pilbara cobra, is a species of venomous snake found in Australia. It is one of the longest venomous snakes in the world and the second longest in Australia...

, and killed as a consequence.

Geographic range

Found in 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...

 in Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

, Northern Territory

Northern Territory

The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...

 and 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...

. The type locality given is "North Australia; Port Essington

Port Essington

Port Essington is an inlet and historic site located on the Cobourg Peninsula in the Garig Gunak Barlu National Park in Australia's Northern Territory...

" (Northern Territory, Australia).

Habitat

Occurs rocky areas, gorges and especially rocky areas near sources of water. Typically, shelter is sought in caves and rock crevices, but individuals have also been found in hollow logs and in burrows under rocks.

Feeding

The diet consists of bird

Bird

Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...

s, mammal

Mammal

Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...

s and other reptiles, including rock-wallabies

Rock-wallaby

The rock-wallabies are the wallabies of the genus Petrogale.-Description:The medium-sized, often colourful and extremely agile rock-wallabies live where rocky, rugged and steep terrain can provide daytime refuge...

, fruit bat

Megabat

Megabats constitute the suborder Megachiroptera, family Pteropodidae of the order Chiroptera . They are also called fruit bats, old world fruit bats, or flying foxes.-Description:...

s, duck

Duck

Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...

s and spinifex pigeons

Spinifex Pigeon

The Spinifex Pigeon, Geophaps plumifera, is a bird found in Australia.There are only two Australian pigeon species that possess an erect crest: the Spinifex Pigeon and the Crested Pigeon. The Spinifex Pigeon is the smaller of the two, measuring from 20 to 24 centimetres...

. They prefer to lie in wait next to animal trails to ambush their prey. Alternatively, they are strong swimmers and also hunt in waterholes, striking at prey from under the water. They have also been known to prey on monitor lizards.

Reproduction

Ovoviviparous

Ovoviviparity

Ovoviviparity, ovovivipary, or ovivipary, is a mode of reproduction in animals in which embryos develop inside eggs that are retained within the mother's body until they are ready to hatch...

,
Mating activity starts in May and continue through until mid-July. When successful, this is followed by a gestation

Gestation

Gestation is the carrying of an embryo or fetus inside a female viviparous animal. Mammals during pregnancy can have one or more gestations at the same time ....

 period of 81–85 days, after which the females lay 12-40 eggs in late spring. The average clutch size is around 19 eggs. The hatchlings emerge after an incubation period of about 50 days, each measuring about 35 cm in length.

Subspecies

Subspecies	Taxon author	Common name	Geographic range
L. o. barroni Liasis olivaceus barroni Liasis olivaceus barroni is a non-venomous python subspecies found in Australia.-Description:Adults grow larger than the nominate subspecies, L. olivaceus, and are distinguished by a lower midbody dorsal scale count and a higher number of ventral scales .-Geographic range:Found in Australia in the...	Smith, 1981	Pilbara olive python	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...  in the Pilbara region of Western Australia Western Australia Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east... .
L. o. olivaceus	Gray John Edward Gray John Edward Gray, FRS was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray .... , 1842	Olive python	Australia from the Kimberley region in Western Australia to the area around Mount Isa Mount Isa, Queensland -Culture and sport:The local theatre group, the Mount Isa Theatrical Society, or MITS, often holds plays and musicals, at least once every few months or so....  in 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... .

External links

• Olive Python Care Guide

• Photo of wild Olive Python attempting to eat wallaby