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The '''Bluff Downs giant python''' ('''''Liasis dubudingala''''') is an [[extinction|extinct]] [[species]] of [[snake]] from [[Queensland]], [[Australia]], that lived during the Early [[Pliocene]]. Named in 2002, ''Liasis dubudingala'' was likely the biggest snake found in Australia, with a total length of up to {{convert|9|m|abbr=on}}. This length rivals the largest extant snake species, the [[reticulated python]] from Asia and the [[green anaconda]] from South America. It may have fed on larger prey such as juvenile [[Diprotodontidae|diprotodontids]], but it is also possible that it was a skilled climber capable of catching birds and arboreal marsupials.
==History and naming==
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The neural spines of ''Liasis dubudingala'' were higher than they were long and slope backwards, however the dorsoposterior angle of said slope is blunt rather than accute. In general the entire vertebra is notably higher than long, with the neural spine, neural arch and centrum all contributing to the height in equal measures. The roof of the [[zygosphene]] slopes at a steep angle and its junction with the neural spine is blunt. The [[articular processes]] are almost horizontal with a slope of less than 5%. The hypapophysis below the centrum grows gradually more shallow from the front to the back, rather than doing so more abruptly. Additionally, the haemal keel of ''Liasis dubudingala'' is pronounced throughout the trunk of the vertebrae. While the holotype vertebra is from the middle of the snake's trunk, the most numerous vertebrae correspond with the anterior trunk region, before the heart. These precardiac vertebrae are higher than they are long like those of the middle trunk, however to a much greater degree, expressing a ratio of almost 2:1 between height and length. This ratio is less well developed in the posterior trunk vertebrae, which also display longer vertebral centra and less horizontal zygapophyses. At least one vertebra, alongside a dentary fragment, appear to belong to a juvenile specimen. The dentary preserves a large portion of the posterior tooth row, showing ten [[alveoli]] situated on a raised ridge. Safe for the second, fourth and sixth of these alveoli, all teeth in the dentary fragment are [[Tooth ankylosis|ankylosed]], meaning they are permanently fused to the jaw bone. The curvature is similar to those of the modern [[olive python]], although the teeth are smaller in diameter.<ref name=SM01/>
''Liasis dubudingala'' was likely among the largest snakes to have existed in Australia, with the largest vertebra measuring a total of {{convert|59.1|mm|abbr=on}} wide. Using Scanlon's 1993 method of estimating the size of fossil snakes, this would result in a total length of {{convert|8.35|m|abbr=on}}. However, this method is based on the proportions of the extant [[Black-headed python]], which is known to have a spine composed of 394 individual vertebrae, contrasting with the average of 450 vertebrae that make up the skeleton of large ''Liasis'' species. This would increase the length of ''Liasis dubudingala'' to roughly {{convert|9|m|abbr=on}}. With this length the Bluff Downs giant python would have been the largest snake of Australia, even exceeding the [[Madtsoiidae|madtsoiid]] snake ''[[Yurlunggur]]''.<ref name=SM01/><ref name=S04>{{Cite journal|last1=Scanlon|first1=J.D.|year=2004|title=First known axis vertebra of a madtsoiid snake (Yurlunggur camfieldensis) and remarks on the neck of snakes.|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/252044827|journal=Beagle: Records of the Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory|volume=20|pages=207–215|doi=10.5962/p.286329 |s2cid=128423678 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
==Classification==
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