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| About: Spotted pythons are
the largest of the Antaresia
species, although these are still
relatively small pythons maxing out
around 4 ft. As their name implies,
they are covered with irregular
spots. They are commonly kept in the
US and two different regional
varients are available. Range: The range of A. maculosa extends along the majority of the east coast of Australia. This species was also discovered by Mark O'Shea in New Guinea near the airstrip of Weam in West Papua. Their range covers the most densly populated area of Australia. They are also found on many islands off the east coast. Also of note is the sympatric distribution with a smaller Antaresia form, the pygmy banded python, a putative 5th species within the genus. Habitat: They are found in a variety of habitat types, but like other Antaresia species, they prefer areas including rocky outcrops, including caves. They are somewhat rare in populated areas, suggesting they are not very adaptable to human encroachment. Natural History Notes: These snakes have been observed to hang from the opening of caves to catch bats. This has also been observed with A. childreni and A. stimsoni. They have also been photographed preying on weaver-type bird chicks as it hangs from the nest. They are also known to feed on various mammals, reptiles and frogs. One interesting observation of ophiophagy in this species included a individual that regurgitated a keelback snake that had a cane toad in it's belly. There are some regional variants within this species. The specimens from the southern part of the range have smaller blotches and spots in a busy pattern. The individuals in the northern reaches of the range can include some very beautiful and large specimens in the Cape York area that have a yellow background with large, spread out, reddish-brown blotches. Interestingly, specimens from the very top of the range and within New Guinea are very similar to specimens from the southern part of the range. General Notes: The Cape York and southern spotted pythons are available in the US, and we are working with the Cape York type. We also have the granite/patternless morph, which has a very finely speckled to patternless appearance. There is also an albino mutation. |
 
Cape York spotted python
female
Patternless spotted python male
Juvenile Cape
York spotted python
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Wild Cape York spotted python
found in the Iron Range NP
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Granite spotted python
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Habitat in Cape York that is
utilized by spotted pythons
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Close up of a female spotted
python
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