Antaresia
| Antaresia | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Stimson's python, A. stimsoni | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Boidae |
| Subfamily: | Pythoninae |
| Genus: |
Antaresia Wells & Wellington, 1984 |
| Species | |
|
See text |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
|
See text
Antaresia is a genus of pythons, non-venomous snakes found in Australia. The genus is known by the common name Children's pythons, the name of the type species. Gray named it in honour of his mentor, John George Children, who was a curator of the zoological collection at the British Museum around that time. It contains the smallest members of Pythonidae. Currently, four species are recognized.
Found in Australia in arid and tropical regions.
*) Not including the nominate subspecies.
T) Type species.
The name is taken from the star Antares in the constellation Scorpius. The genus name was created in 1984 by Wells and Wellington in a revision of Children's pythons, those previously described as a single species in the genus Liasis. Despite a petition to suppress the taxonomic work of these authors, it gained wide acceptance and publication in 1991.
Four species are currently recognized in the genus Antaresia, which is contained by the family Pythonidae; infraspecific ranks have also been described.
A subspecies, A. stimsoni orientalis was described by L.A. Smith (1985), but was not recognized as valid by Barker & Barker (1994).
...
Wikipedia