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Aspidites melanocephalus (KREFFT, 1864)

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Higher TaxaPythonidae, Henophidia, Pythonoidea, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Black-headed Python
G: Schwarzkopfpython 
SynonymAspidiotes melanocephalus KREFFT 1864: 225
Aspidites [melanocephalus] PETERS 1876 (nomen novum pro Aspidiotes)
Aspidites melanocephalus — BOULENGER 1893: 91
Aspidites melanocephalus — STIMSON 1969
Aspidites melanocephalus — KLUGE 1993
Aspidites melanocephalus — MCDIARMID, CAMPBELL & TOURÉ 1999: 164
Aspidites melanocephalus — COGGER 2000: 601
Aspidites melanocephalus adelynensis HOSER 2001
Aspidites melanocephalus davieii HOSER 2001
Aspidites melanocephalus rickjonesii HOSER 2009
Aspidites melanocephalus — SCHLEIP & O’SHEA 2010
Aspidites melanocephalus — WILSON & SWAN 2010
Aspidites melanocephalus — WALLACH et al. 2014: 57 
DistributionAustralia (Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia)

Type locality: Bowen (for Port Denison), Queensland, Australia

adelynensis: Australia (Western Australia); Type locality: Wyndham, Western Australia.

davieii: Australia (Western Australia). Type locality: Tom Price, Western Australia.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: BMNH 1946.1.8.2, (formerly 66.2.13.27), presented G. Krefft. Krefft (1869) gives the collector as J. Rainbird.
Holotype: WAM R51208 [adelynensis]
Holotype: WAM R46170 [davieii] 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (genus): Premaxillary teeth absent. Majority of subcaudals single. Also distinguished from Liasis and Python by absence of sensory pits on labials and rostra!. Description (genus): Head shields symmetrical. Nasal entire. Parietals fragmented but discern- xxx ible, usually two symmetrical lobate fragments, sometimes in contact but usually separated by small scales. Ventrals 273-359. Subcaudals 43-69. Anal scale entire. Midbody scale rows 43-63. Dorsal scales smooth, moderately imbricate, apically rounded. Juveniles strongly banded and compressed. (Smith 1981) 
CommentType species: Aspidiotes melanocephalus KREFFT 1864 is the type species of the genus Aspidites PETERS 1876 [1877]: 533, 914. Aspidiotes is preoccupied by Aspidiotes BOUCHÉ 1844 (Hemiptera) and Aspidiotes SCHOENHERR 1847 (Coleoptera).

Phylogenetics: Reynolds et al. 2014 did not find support for the distinction of the Aspidites and Leiopython/Bothrochilus clades. This supports the findingfs of Rawlings et al. (2008) who recommended subsuming the genus Leiopython Hubrecht 1879 into Bothrochilus Fitzinger 1843 (resurrected by Kluge, 1993)

Synonymy: note that KAISER et al. rejected the names coined by HOSER.

Subspecies: Hoser’s subspecies should be treated as questionable as they are not well diagnosed, partly only based on distribution. Hoser’s subspecies are often named after friends, relatives or other popular figures. Hoser (2000) provided the same erroneous accession number for the holotype as was already provided by Smith (1985) in his original description; WAM R51208 is the number for a skink, Eremiascincus isolepis (fide Mecke et al. 2009). Hoser (2009) had also designated the same holotype and paratypes for rickjonesii as for A. m. davieii. The former name is thus not available. 
EtymologyThe genus name melanocephalus is derived from the Greek words melano meaning black and cephalus meaning head, thus the black-headed species.  
References
  • Boulenger, G.A. 1893. Catalogue of the snakes in the British Museum (Nat. Hist.) I. London (Taylor & Francis), 448 pp. - get paper here
  • Cogger, H. G. 2014. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, 7th ed. CSIRO Publishing, xxx + 1033 pp. - get paper here
  • Cogger, H.G. 2000. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, 6th ed. Ralph Curtis Publishing, Sanibel Island, 808 pp.
  • Franz, V. 2003. Pythons of the World. Reptilia (GB) (27): 16-23 - get paper here
  • Geiger, Jochen & Frank Buchter 2014. Sonnenschutz bei Schlangen. Untersuchung zur UV-Lichtdurchlässigkeit der Augenschuppen und der Haut einiger Arten. Terraria-Elaphe 2014 (1): 52-55 (2013) - get paper here
  • Grace, J. 1997. Captive breeding of the Black-headed python, Aspidites melanocephalus. Monitor: Journal of the Victorian Herpetological Society. 9 (1): 8-9
  • Hoser, R. 2009. Creationism and contrived science: a review of recent python systematics papers and the resolution of issues of taxonomy and nomenclature. Australasian J. Herpetol. 2: 1-34 - get paper here
  • Hoser, Raymond 2000. A Revision of the Australasian pythons. Ophidia Review 1: 7-27
  • Johnson, C.R., G.J.W. Webb & C. Johnson 1975. Thermoregulation in Pythons: III. Thermal Ecology and Behavior of the Black-Headed Rock Python, Aspidites melanocephalus Herpetologica 31 (3): 326-332. - get paper here
  • Kluge, Arnold G. 1993. Aspidites and the phylogeny of Pythonine snakes. Rec. Austral. Mus. (Supplement 19): 1-77 - get paper here
  • Krefft, G. 1864. Description of Aspidiotes melanocephalus, a new snake from Port Denison, N.E. Australia. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (3) 14: 225-226 - get paper here
  • Krefft,G. 1864. Description of Aspidiotes melanocephalus, a new snake from Port Denison. Proc. zool. Soc. London 1864: 20-22 - get paper here
  • Kunz, Kriton 2018. Pythons: eine Erfolgsgeschichte in Natur und Terrarium. Terraria-Elaphe 2018 (4): 14-19 - get paper here
  • Lillywhite, H.B. 2022. Discovering snakes in wild places. ECO Publishing, Rodeo, NM, 164 pp. - get paper here
  • Lillywhite, Harvey B. 2014. How Snakes Work: Structure, Function and Behavior of the World's Snakes. Oxford University Press, New York, 256 pp
  • Longman, H. A. 1916. Snakes and lizards from Queensland and the Northern Territory. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 5: 46-51 - get paper here
  • McDiarmid, R.W.; Campbell, J.A. & Touré,T.A. 1999. Snake species of the world. Vol. 1. [type catalogue] Herpetologists’ League, 511 pp.
  • Merahtzakis, G. 1995. Nachzuchterfolg bei Aspidites melanocephalus. Elaphe 3 (3): 7-8
  • O’Shea, M. 2018. The Book of Snakes. Ivy Press / Quarto Publishing, London, - get paper here
  • Parkin, T., Jolly, C. J., de Laive, A., & von Takach, B. 2020. Snakes on an urban plain: Temporal patterns of snake activity and human–snake conflict in Darwin, Australia. Austral Ecology - get paper here
  • Parkin, Tom and Paul Oliver. 2015. Aspidites melanocephalus (black-headed python). Herpetological Review 46 (1): 99 - get paper here
  • Peters, Wilhem Carl Hartwig 1876. Über die von S. M. S. Gazelle mitgebrachten Amphibien. Monatsber. königl. Akad. Wiss. Berlin. 1876 (August):528-535 - get paper here
  • Seung Hoon, Cha 2012. Snake, the world most beautifull curve [in Korean]. Hownext, 304 pp. [ISBN 978-89-965656-7-3] - get paper here
  • Somaweera, R. 2009. Snakes of Darwin. Poster, University of Sydney
  • Wallach, Van; Kenneth L. Williams , Jeff Boundy 2014. Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. [type catalogue] Taylor and Francis, CRC Press, 1237 pp.
  • Wilson, S. & Swan, G. 2010. A complete guide to reptiles of Australia, 3rd ed. Chatswood: New Holland, 558 pp.
  • Winchell, S. 2009. Pythons Australiens. Reptilia (Münster) 14 (79): 16-27 - get paper here
  • Worrell, E. 1951. Classification of Australian Boidae. Proc. R. zool. Soc. New South Wales, Sydney, 1949-50: 20—25
 
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