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Simalia amethistina (SCHNEIDER, 1801)

IUCN Red List - Simalia amethistina - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaPythonidae, Henophidia, Pythonoidea, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Amethystine or scrub python
G: Amethystpython 
SynonymBoa Amethistina SCHNEIDER 1801: 254
Python amethystinus — DAUDIN 1803: 230
Constrictor amethystin [us] — WAGLER 1830: 168
Liasis amethystinus — GRAY 1842: 44
Liasis Amethystinus — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1844: 433
Aspidopython Jakati MEYER 1874: 135
Liasis amethystinus — GÜNTHER 1879: 85
Liasis duceboracensis GÜNTHER 1879: 86
Hypaspistes dipsadides OGILBY 1891: 192
Python amethystinus — BOULENGER 1893: 83
Liasis clarki BARBOUR 1914: 202
Python amethystinus — DE ROOIJ 1917: 24
Liasis amethistinus — STIMSON 1969
Python amethistinus — MCDOWELL 1975: 52
Australiasis amethystinus — WELLS & WELLINGTON 1984: 106
Morelia amethistina — KLUGE 1993
Python amethistinus — WALLS 1995
Morelia amethistina — MCDIARMID, CAMPBELL & TOURÉ 1999: 170
Morelia amethistina — COGGER 2000: 611
Austroliasis amethystina clarki [sic] — HOSER 2001
Liasis amethistinus — SWITAK 2006
Morelia amethistina — SCHLEIP & O’SHEA 2010
Australiasis funki — HOSER 2012 (preliminary)
Morelia amethistina — DE LANG 2013
Simalia amethistina — REYNOLDS et al. 2014
Morelia amethistina — WALLACH et al. 2014: 452
Simalia amethistina — BARKER et al. 2015: 13
Morelia amethistina — COGGER 2014: 824
Simalia amethistina — EIPPER & EIPPER 2024: 56 
DistributionIndonesia (Halmahera, Batjan = Bacan, Ceram = Seram, Ambon, Saparua, Haraku, Timorlaut, Banda, Kai Island, Aru Island, Misool, Salawati, Irian Jaya),
Molucca Islands, S Philippines ?,
Papua New Guinea (Bismarck Archipelago, Trobriand I), Louisiade Archipelago, New Ireland, New Britain, Ferguson Island, Australia (NE Queensland), several Islands of Torres Strait

Type locality: unknown (fide STIMSON 1969 and KLUGE 1993)  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesSyntype: ZMB 1485 (regarded as lost fide Bauer et al., 2002 but later found), no locality, Bloch collection. Other syntypes are the specimens on which descriptions and illustrations cited by Schneider were based, including Seba (1735), also lost (Bauer et al., 2002). Wallach et al. (2014) consider the listing of ZMB 1485 as holotype by Stimson (1969) as constituting a lectotype designation. However, this is disputed by the 'Code' (1999) Art. 74.5 (F. Tillack, pers. comm., 15 June 2020).
Holotype: Australian Museum (Sydney) [Hypaspistes dipsadides]
Holotype: MCZ 9600 [Liasis clarki] 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (genus): Barker et al. 2015: 13


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CommentSynonymy after KLUGE 1993. Liasis amethistinus kinghorni STULL 1933 hs been elevated to full species status by HARVEY et al. 2000.

Hybridization: BANKS & SCHWANER (1984) describe a hybrid between Morelia spilota and Liasis mackloti as well as hybrids between Morelia spilota and Morelia amethistina.

Type species: Boa Amethistina SCHNEIDER 1801: 254 is the type species of the genus Simalia GRAY 1849.

Habitat: partly arboreal (Harrington et al. 2018). 
EtymologyThe genus name Simalia is of unknown origin. Gray 1849 did not comment on the etymology.

Apparently named after the violet variety of quartz, amethyst, from Greek αμέθυστος (amethystos) from α- (a-), "not" and Greek μεθύσκω (methysko) / μεθώ (metho) (Modern Greek), "intoxicate", a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from drunkenness. 
References
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