Head dimorphism in the African python, Python natalensis (Squamata: Pythonidae) from Tanzania
Keywords:
African python, Python natalensis, shovel-headed type, Southern African rock python, wedge-headed typeAbstract
Very little is known about intraspecific variation in the Southern African rock python which is also referred to as the Natal rock python or simply the African python, Python natalensis Smith, 1833 (family Pythonidae of the Order Squamata) mainly due to limited reachability of some members of the species such as the underground types and those inhabiting dense rocks. A recent study has revealed head dimorphism in the snake based on two samples from Bwiru rocky area near Lake Victoria shore in northern Mwanza City of Ilemela District, Tanzania. One morph (the “wedge-headed type”) is the holotype, comprising short triangular head with U-shaped mouth. Another morph (the “shovel-headed type”) is a paratype, comprising a long shovel-shaped head of burrowing design.
Downloads
References
Alden PC, Estes RD, Schlitter D, McBridge B (1996) Collins Guide to African Wildlife. London: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 000220066X.
Alexander, G; Marais J (2008) A Guide to the Reptiles of Southern Africa. Struik Publishers. ISBN 978-1-77007-386-9.
Bartlett PP, Griswold B, Bartlett RD (2001) Reptiles, Amphibians, and Invertebrates: An Identification and Care Guide. New York: Barron’s Educational Series. ISBN 0-7641-1650-9.
Bartlett PP, Wagner E (2009) Pythons. New York: Barron’s Educational Series. ISBN 0-7641-4244-5.
Beolens BO, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011) The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Python sebae, p. 240).
Boesveld S (2013) "'Very, very strange': Snake handlers, experts baffled by New Brunswick python attack". National Post. Postmedia Network Inc.
Branch, B (1998) Field Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN 1868720403.
Gower DJ, Winkler JD (2007) Taxonomy of the Indian Snake Xylophis Beddome (Serpentes: Caenophidia), with Description of a New Species. Hamadryad Vol. 31, No. 2, pp. 315 – 329, 2007.
Halliday T, Adler K (2002) The New Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-852507-9.
Henderson RW, Powell R (Editors) (2007) Biology of the Boas and Pythons. Eagle Mountain, Utah: EMP Press. ISBN 0972015434.
Largen M.J. & J.B. Rasmussen (1993) Catalogue of the snakes of Ethiopia (Reptilia Serpentes), including identification keys. Tropical Zoology, 6:2, 313-434, DOI:10.1080/03946975.1993.10539231.
Luiselli L, Akani GC (2002) "An investigation into the composition, complexity and functioning of snake communities in the mangroves of south-eastern Nigeria". African Journal of Ecology. 40 (3): 220–227. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2028.2002.00358.x.
Luiselli L, Angelici FM, Akani GC (2001) "Food habits of Python sebae in suburban and natural habitats". African Journal of Ecology. 39: 116–118. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2028.2001.00269.x.
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. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
Mehrtens JM (1987) Living Snakes of the World in Color. New York: Sterling Publishers. ISBN 0-8069-6460-X.
Murphy JC, Henderson RW (1997) Tales of Giant Snakes: A Historical Natural History of Anacondas and Pythons. Krieger Pub. Co. ISBN 0-89464-995-7.
O’Shea M (2007) Boas and Pythons of the World. London: New Holland Publishers. ISBN 1-84537-544-0.
OpenStreetMap contributors (2017). Mwanza City Tanzania, Retrieved 23rd September 2017 from https://planet.openstreetmap.org.
Ott BD, Secor SM (2007) "Adaptive regulation of digestive performance in the genus Python ". Journal of Experimental Biology 210 (2): 340-356. Pyron RA, Burbrink FT, Wiens JJ (2013) A phylogeny and revised classification of Squamata, including 4161 species of lizards and snakes". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 13 (1): 93. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-13-93.
Razzetti E & Msuya CA (2002) Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Arusha National Park (Tanzania). TANAPA, Tanzania.
Sandeep, S (2004) "An observation on suspected death of Indian Rock Python (Python molurus molurus) because of Jungle Cat (Felis chaus)". South Asian Reptile Network Newsletter. 6:1.
Schmidt W (2006) Reptiles and Amphibians of Southern Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN 1-77007-342-6.
Spawls S, Howell K, Drewes R, Ashe J (2002) A Field Guide to Reptiles of East Africa. San Diego, California: Academic Press.
Spawls S, Branch B (1995) The Dangerous Snakes of Africa. South Africa: Southern Book Publishers, Ltd.
Starin ED, Burghardt GM (1992) "African rock pythons (Python sebae) in the Gambia: Observations on natural history and interactions with humans". The Snake. 24: 50–62.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2018 Author

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If the material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/