DESCRIPTION – Light to dark brown base colour with darker brown to black blotches, often blending together on anterior and posterior. White to cream ventral surface. Some island populations with lighter markings. Infra-red (heat sensitive) pits line the lower jaw scales and snout. Much smaller than Brisbane’s local Carpet Pythons. Grows to 140cm. 35-40 mid body scales, 245-290 ventral, 30-45 sub ventral, anal single. Family: Pythonidae.
DISTRIBUTION – Woodlands, particularly near drainages, Brigalow, scrubland, rainforests and rock outcrops. Found from Eastern QLD to Northern NSW, into the Torres Strait Islands and PNG.
ECOLOGY – Largely nocturnal. Terrestrial and arboreal, feeds on lizards, frogs, and rodents, and bats using heat-sensitive pits to ambush warm blooded prey, often seen ambushing bats at cave entrances. Oviparous, lays 4-19 eggs, females known to coil around and brood their egg mass.
VENOM – NON-VENOMOUS. Powerful constrictor.
Updated November 2019 from Eipper, S. & Eipper, T. (2019) A Naturalists Guide To The Snakes Of Australia. John Beaufoy Publishing.
