Pixie the tanimbar scrub python

Congrats on picking up Pixie! She's very pretty.

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Originally Posted by redshepherd

I'm actually weirded out by those vertical lines on her side. Pretty sure they're markings, but not totally sure.

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Looks like the little bends they get in their scales from staying coiled up.

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Originally Posted by AbsoluteApril

Congrats on picking up Pixie! She's very pretty.



Looks like the little bends they get in their scales from staying coiled up.

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Thanks!
ahh I see, I've never seen those before! Funny

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Originally Posted by redshepherd

Okay, maybe 3.5 feet... I'm just estimating! Her tail is very long.



Thanks! Actually same, I knew about scrubs, but I didn't know about the nauta subspecies until I saw her at the show... and I researched on my phone on the spot. LOL

Yeah they're morelia! Or at least, they used to be. Apparently it's simalia nauta now. Boelen's pythons are also simalia now, since a couple years ago.

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If his mama called him Morelia, imma call him Morelia! Actually, the proposed change is quite interesting. Below is from the actual research. Seems they suggest all scrub pythons might be on their own "branch" in the "tree of life".

And Nauta is latin for sailor, seaman, mariner. Cool all the way around!

A number of studies have suggested that taxonomy in the genusMorelia does not reflect actual evolutionary relationships Pyr-on et al., 2013b; Rawlings et al., 2008. For instance, Rawlings et al.(2008) suggested that Morelia might be paraphyletic, and identifiedthree lineages: (1) M. boeleni, (2) M. carinata + M. viridis, and (3) M.amethistina + M. bredli + M. oenpelliensis + M. spilota. We added thespecies M. tracyae, M. clastolepis, M. nauta, and M. kinghorni to ouranalysis and recovered a slightly different arrangement. We foundsupport (BS = 92, PP = 0.99) for the Australasian/Indonesian cladeof scrub (amethystine) pythons (M. oenpelliensis, M. boeleni, M. tra-cyae, M. amethistina, M. clastolepis, M. kinghorni, and M. nauta) and aclade of the carpet and tree pythons (M. bredli, M. carinata, M. spi-lota, and M. viridis), which is sister to the children’s (dwarf) pythons(Antaresia). Within the scrub pythons, we found a basal placementof the enigmatic M. oenpelliensis and M. boeleni, and we foundstrong support for the distinction of the species M. tracyae, M. ame-thistina, and M. clastolepis, though not the closely-related derivedspecies M. kinghorni, and M. nauta (BS = 57, PP = 0.93) described in Harvey et al. (2000). It should be noted that Harvey et al.(2000) suggest that M. amethistina likely comprises a cryptic spe-cies complex, a sentiment which is echoed by O’Shea (2007). Among the tree pythons, we did not find strong support for theplacement of M. carinata or M. viridis (other research suggests thatthe latter is likely two species: M. viridis and M. azurea; Rawlingsand Donnellan, 2003 relative to the rest of the clade; however,we did find support for the distinction of the carpet pythons M. bre-dli and M. spilota (BS = 100, PP = 1.0), as well as the distinction ofthe subspecies M. s. spilota and M. s. variegata (BS = 100,PP = 0.88). Additional subspecies are described in M. spilota, anda more extensive analysis would determine whether this wide-spread species is in fact a species complex. Our analysis supportsa close relationship between the tree, carpet, and children’s py-thons, but we are unable to recover strong support among thesespecies, likely due to the availability of only mtDNA sequencesfor M. carinata and most species of Antaresia. Additional samplingof markers should help to resolve the species’ relationships in thisclade. However, it is clear that Morelia is likely paraphyletic withrespect to the other Australasian/Indonesian pythons, and we rec-ommend resolving this paraphyly with a new generic name for thescrub python clade (M. oenpelliensis, M. boeleni, M. tracyae, M. ame-thistina, M. clastolepis, M. kinghorni, and M. nauta).

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Originally Posted by rock

If his mama called him Morelia, imma call him Morelia!

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Nice "Coming to America" reference :)

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Originally Posted by dboeren

Nice "Coming to America" reference :)

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Hahaha, yes. Nailed it.

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Originally Posted by rock

If his mama called him Morelia, imma call him Morelia! Actually, the proposed change is quite interesting. Below is from the actual research. Seems they suggest all scrub pythons might be on their own "branch" in the "tree of life".

And Nauta is latin for sailor, seaman, mariner. Cool all the way around!

A number of studies have suggested that taxonomy in the genusMorelia does not reflect actual evolutionary relationships Pyr-on et al., 2013b; Rawlings et al., 2008. For instance, Rawlings et al.(2008) suggested that Morelia might be paraphyletic, and identifiedthree lineages: (1) M. boeleni, (2) M. carinata + M. viridis, and (3) M.amethistina + M. bredli + M. oenpelliensis + M. spilota. We added thespecies M. tracyae, M. clastolepis, M. nauta, and M. kinghorni to ouranalysis and recovered a slightly different arrangement. We foundsupport (BS = 92, PP = 0.99) for the Australasian/Indonesian cladeof scrub (amethystine) pythons (M. oenpelliensis, M. boeleni, M. tra-cyae, M. amethistina, M. clastolepis, M. kinghorni, and M. nauta) and aclade of the carpet and tree pythons (M. bredli, M. carinata, M. spi-lota, and M. viridis), which is sister to the children’s (dwarf) pythons(Antaresia). Within the scrub pythons, we found a basal placementof the enigmatic M. oenpelliensis and M. boeleni, and we foundstrong support for the distinction of the species M. tracyae, M. ame-thistina, and M. clastolepis, though not the closely-related derivedspecies M. kinghorni, and M. nauta (BS = 57, PP = 0.93) described in Harvey et al. (2000). It should be noted that Harvey et al.(2000) suggest that M. amethistina likely comprises a cryptic spe-cies complex, a sentiment which is echoed by O’Shea (2007). Among the tree pythons, we did not find strong support for theplacement of M. carinata or M. viridis (other research suggests thatthe latter is likely two species: M. viridis and M. azurea; Rawlingsand Donnellan, 2003 relative to the rest of the clade; however,we did find support for the distinction of the carpet pythons M. bre-dli and M. spilota (BS = 100, PP = 1.0), as well as the distinction ofthe subspecies M. s. spilota and M. s. variegata (BS = 100,PP = 0.88). Additional subspecies are described in M. spilota, anda more extensive analysis would determine whether this wide-spread species is in fact a species complex. Our analysis supportsa close relationship between the tree, carpet, and children’s py-thons, but we are unable to recover strong support among thesespecies, likely due to the availability of only mtDNA sequencesfor M. carinata and most species of Antaresia. Additional samplingof markers should help to resolve the species’ relationships in thisclade. However, it is clear that Morelia is likely paraphyletic withrespect to the other Australasian/Indonesian pythons, and we rec-ommend resolving this paraphyly with a new generic name for thescrub python clade (M. oenpelliensis, M. boeleni, M. tracyae, M. ame-thistina, M. clastolepis, M. kinghorni, and M. nauta).

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Interesting, thanks for the text! I just took a look at the article. Since simalia is apparently official now, guess that's what I'm using lol!

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Originally Posted by redshepherd

Interesting, thanks for the text! I just took a look at the article. Since simalia is apparently official now, guess that's what I'm using lol!

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Yes, they are very unique pythons! I am looking forward to seeing future pictures and reading about her handling. Enjoy her!

Very cool looking animal. Love the eyes.

She’s so much better with handling today! Brief and calm and ending on a good note did the trick really quick. She didn't flinch out of her skin when I touched her in the enclosure either. And shes even in shed now too, which I didnt notice until after I took her out.

Sorry about all these crappy iphone photos LOL. I figure I should keep handling short and simple for now, until she really gets used to it, before bringing in a bulky camera.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...32zso1_500.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...2zso1_1280.jpg

Here's the other day...
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...2zso1_1280.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...2zso2_1280.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by redshepherd

She’s so much better with handling today! Brief and calm and ending on a good note did the trick really quick. She didn't flinch out of her skin when I touched her in the enclosure either. And shes even in shed now too, which I didnt notice until after I took her out.

Sorry about all these crappy iphone photos LOL. I figure I should keep handling short and simple for now, until she really gets used to it, before bringing in a bulky camera.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...32zso1_500.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...2zso1_1280.jpg

Here's the other day...
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...2zso1_1280.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...2zso2_1280.jpg

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Looking good!

Keep it up. I want to see you with a 24"-30" tall cage eventually.

You made a wonderful decision taking that snake home!