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| status = VU
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{cite iucn |author=Woinarski, J. |author-link=species:John C.Z. Woinarski |author2=Gillespie, G. |author2-link=species:Graeme R. Gillespie |author3=Greenlees, M. |author3-link=species:Matthew Greenlees |author4=McDonald, P. |author4-link=species:Peter J. McDonald |author5=Fenner, A. |author5-link=species:Aaron L. Fenner |year=2017 |title=''Simalia oenpelliensis '' |volume=2017 |page=e.T42494211A42494251 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T42494211A42494251.en |access-date=15 February 2022}}</ref>
| genus = Nyctophilopython
| parent_authority = [[Wells and Wellington affair|Wells & Wellington]], 1985
| species = oenpelliensis
| authority = ([[species:Graeme Francis Gow|Gow]], 1977)<ref name=Gow/>
| synonyms = *''Python oenpelliensis'' <br />{{small|Gow, 1977}}
*''Morelia oenpelliensis'' <br />{{small|— [[Harold Cogger|H.G. Cogger]], [[species:Elizabeth E. Cameron|Cameron]] & <br />[[species:Heather M. Cogger|H.M. Cogger]], 1983}}
*''Australiasis oenpelliensis'' <br />{{small|— [[Richard Walter Wells|Wells]] & [[Cliff Ross Wellington|Wellington]], 1984}}
*''Nyctophilopython oenpelliensis'' <br />{{small|— Wells & Wellington, 1985}}
*''M''[''orelia'']. ''oenpelliensis'' <br />{{small|— [[Arnold G. Kluge|Kluge]], 1993}}<ref name="McD99">{{cite book|last1=McDiarmid|author-link1=
*''Simalia oenpelliensis'' <br />{{small|— [[
*''Nawaran oenpelliensis'' <br />{{small|— Esquerré et al. 2020}}
*''Nyctophilopython oenpelliensis'' <br />{{small|— [[species:Hinrich Kaiser|Kaiser]], [[species:Scott Thomson|Thomson]] & [[species:Glenn Michael Shea|Shea]], 2020}}<ref name=RDB/>
}}
The '''Oenpelli python''' or '''Oenpelli rock python''' ('''''Simalia oenpelliensis''''' or '''''Nyctophilopython oenpelliensis''''') is a [[species]] of large [[snake]] in the [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Pythonidae]]. The species is [[Endemism|endemic]] to the [[sandstone]] [[massif]] area of the western [[Arnhem Land]] region in the [[Northern Territory]] of [[Australia]].<ref name=IUCN/><ref name="NT threatened"/> There are no [[subspecies]] that are recognised as being valid.<ref name=
▲The '''Oenpelli python''' (''Nyctophilopython oenpelliensis'') is a [[species]] of large [[snake]] in the [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Pythonidae]]. The species is [[Endemism|endemic]] to the [[sandstone]] [[massif]] area of the western [[Arnhem Land]] region in the [[Northern Territory]] of [[Australia]].<ref name="NT threatened"/> There are no [[subspecies]] that are recognised as being valid.<ref name="ITIS">{{ITIS|id=634779|taxon=''Morelia oenpelliensis ''|access-date=2007-09-19}}</ref> It has been called the rarest python in the world.<ref>{{cite video|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yabmq1pTpn8|title=Rarest Python in the World|date=18 December 2013|publisher=SnakeBytesTV|access-date=2016-02-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite video|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otbw8pSC114|title=Breeding plan aims to save snakes|date=29 March 2012|publisher=[[ABC News (Australia)]]|access-date=2016-02-04}}</ref><ref name=SydneySmith/> Two notable characteristics of the species are the unusually large size of its eggs and its ability to change colour.<ref name=JCM/>
==Taxonomy and etymology==
The Oenpelli python was assigned to a taxonomy in 1977 by [[species:Graeme Francis Gow|Gow]], who placed it in the genus ''[[Python (genus)|Python]]''.<ref name=Gow>[[species:Graeme Francis Gow|Gow, G.
The [[Specific name (zoology)|specific name]], ''oenpelliensis'', is derived from the [[Type locality (biology)|type locality]], which is given as "6.5 km S.W. of [[Gunbalanya, Northern Territory|Oenpelli, Northern Territory]], Australia (12°21'S, 133°01'E)".<ref name="McD99"/><ref>[[species:Bo Beolens|Beolens, Bo]]; [[species:Michael Watkins|Watkins, Michael]]; [[species:Michael Grayson|Grayson, Michael]] (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. {{ISBN|978-1-4214-0135-5}}. (''Morelia oenpelliensis'', p. 193).</ref> In 2020, the name '' As of September 2024, [[ITIS]] and the [[IUCN Red List]] identify the ''Simalia'' classification as valid,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=1094048| title=ITIS - Report: ''Simalia oenpelliensis ''}}</ref><ref>[https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/42494211/42494251 Species. Taxonomy] {{webarchive|date=24 November 2020
|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124191729/https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/42494211/42494251}}</ref> while [[The Reptile Database]] uses ''Nyctophilopython''.<ref name=RDB/>
==Description==
A large and rare species of the monotypic genus ''Nyctophilopython'', the Oenpelli python may grow to more than {{convert|4|m|ft|abbr=on}} in total length (including tail),<ref name=ReptilesAU>{{cite web|title=Oenpelli python|url=http://reptilesofaustralia.com/snakes/pythons/moenpelli.htm#.VtPK32zTmdB|work=The Reptiles of Australia|first1=
The [[Dorsum (anatomy)|dorsal]] colour pattern is dark olive-brown with darkened blotches. The belly is pale and dull, varying from cream to yellow.<ref name="NT threatened">{{cite web|url=http://www.nt.gov.au/nreta/wildlife/animals/threatened/pdf/herps/oenpelli_python_vu.pdf|title=Oenpelli python. ''Morelia oenpelliensis''|last=
The Oenpelli python is able to change its [[animal colouration|skin colouration]], which tends to be lighter at night and darker in the daytime.<ref name=JCM>{{cite web|url=http://www.giantconstrictingsnakes.com/MoreliaOenpellensis.html|url-status=dead|title=The Oenpelli Python, ''Simalia oenpelliensis ''|work=Giant Constricting Snakes – The Science of Large Serpents|last=Murphy|first=J.C.|author-link=species:John C. Murphy |access-date=2016-02-29|archive-date=2016-03-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307185012/http://www.giantconstrictingsnakes.com/MoreliaOenpellensis.html}}</ref>
The eggs of the Oenpelli python have been described as "huge".<ref name=Mur97/> At {{convert|110.5|by|60|mm|in|abbr=on}}, they are almost twice the size of those for the related amethystine python (''[[Amethystine python|Simalia amethystina]]''), which are reported as {{convert|70|-|98|by|45-56|mm|in|abbr=on}}.<ref name=Mur97>{{cite book|last1=Murphy|first1=J.
==Behaviour==
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==Distribution and habitat==
The
The species is found in [[habitat]] located on a sandstone [[massif]], in the regions surrounding the upper reaches of the [[Cadell River|Cadell]], [[South Alligator River|South Alligator]] and [[East Alligator River|East Alligator]] rivers. It is territorial, roaming between discrete positions, such as overhangs and caves in sandstone gorges or in a shady tree. Sightings are also reported in the region's woodland, heathland, and open rocky plains. It is noted as having an association with the [[Kombalgie]] sandstone gorges.<ref name="Cogger">{{cite book|author-link=Harold Cogger|last=Cogger|first=H.
==Conservation status==
The total population of ''N. oenpelliensis'' is poorly surveyed, and no study has been made of the rate of its decline. This is partly due to the inaccessibility of the region, a factor that may help the preservation of the species. The conservation status of ''Nyctophilopython oenpelliensis'' is listed by the Northern Territory Government as vulnerable to extinction. This has been evaluated by known threatening factors, such as altered land use and fire regimes, and population inferred from the relative abundance of its prey. This is estimated to be below 10,000, which is inferred from several factors. As a large predator, the species is particularly vulnerable to declines in available prey. These larger mammals are more susceptible to changes in land use and threats such as introduced species. Suitable habitat is also limited in the distribution range of the species. The species is known to be illegally collected for private use, which is likely to impact on some subpopulations. This threat is limited by the inaccessibility of its habitat, the same factor that has restricted study of the species. Variation and decline in subpopulations has not been fully evaluated. It is found within a conservation reserve known as [[Kakadu National Park]].<ref name="NT threatened"/>
An attempt to start a breeding program was begun in 2012<ref name=SydneySmith>{{cite news|first=
==In Aboriginal language and culture==
In the [[Bininj Kunwok language|Kunwinjku]] language spoken in [[Gunbalanya, Northern Territory|Oenpelli]] itself (now known as Gunbalanya), the Oenpelli python is called ''nawaran''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Garde |first1=Murray |title=nawaran |url=https://www.njamed.com/#nawaran |website=Bininj Kunwok dictionary |publisher=Bininj Kunwok Regional Language Centre |access-date=19 June 2019}}</ref> The Oenpelli python has historically been a totemic creature for the Bininj Aboriginal people and because of its iridescent scales it may also be associated with the [[Rainbow Serpent]].<ref name=Got6/>
==References==
{{Reflist
}}
==Further reading==
*[[Harold Cogger|Cogger, H.G.]] (2018). ''Reptiles & Amphibians of Australia, Updated Seventh Edition''. Clayton South, Victoria, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. xxxii + 1,060 pp. {{ISBN|978-1486309696}}.
*[[species:Steve K. Wilson|Wilson, S.]]; [[species:Gerry Swan|Swan, G.]] (2023). ''A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia, Sixth Edition''. Sydney: Reed New Holland Publishers. 680 pp. {{ISBN|978-1-92554-671-2}}. (''Nyctophilopython oenpelliensis'', pp. 556–557).
==External links==
*Terzon, Emilia (2015). "Darwin snake expert breeds 'rainbow serpent' python back from the brink of extinction." ABC News
▲*{{NRDB species|genus=Nyctophilopython|species=oenpelliensis|date=10 June|year=2021}}
▲*"Darwin snake expert breeds 'rainbow serpent' python back from the brink of extinction." ABC News 14 April 2015. [http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-15/rare-nt-python-bred-first-time-captivity/6394192]
{{Pythonidae}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1567030|from2=Q104876197}}
[[Category:Snakes of Australia]]▼
[[Category:Pythonidae]]
▲[[Category:Snakes of Australia]]
[[Category:Reptiles of the Northern Territory]]
[[Category:Endemic fauna of Australia]]
[[Category:Reptiles described in 1977]]
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