Leiopython

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Lepidosauromorpha
Superordo: Lepidosauria
Ordo: Squamata
Subordo: Serpentes
Infraordo: Henophidia

Familia: Pythonidae
Genus: Leiopython
Species (2): L. albertisii – L. fredparkeri
Name

Leiopython Hubrecht, 1879: 14

Gender:
Original status: valid genus
Type species: Leiopython gracilis Hubrecht, 1879
Fixation: monotypy

Selected references

Kluge, A.G. 1993 Aspidites and the phylogeny of the pythonine snakes. Records of the Australian Museum, supplement, (19):1-77. DOI: 10.3853/j.0812-7387.19.1993.52 Reference page.
Reynolds, R.G., Niemiller, M.L. & Revell, L.J. 2014. Toward a Tree-of-Life for the boas and pythons: Multilocus species-level phylogeny with unprecedented taxon sampling. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 71: 201–213. DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2013.11.011 Paywall Reference page.
Schleip, W.D. 2008. Revision of the genus Leiopython Hubrecht 1879 (Serpentes: Pythonidae) with the redescription of taxa recently described by Hoser (2000) and the description of new species. Journal of herpetology 42(4): 645–667. DOI: 10.1670/06-182R5.1 Reference page.
Schleip, W.D. 2014: Two new species of Leiopython Hubrecht, 1879 (Pythonidae: Serpentes): Non-compliance with the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature leads to unavailable names in zoological nomenclature. Journal of herpetology 48(2): 272-275. DOI: 10.1670/13-157 Reference page.
Schleip, W.D. & O’Shea, M. 2010. Annotated checklist of the recent and extinct pythons (Serpentes, Pythonidae), with notes on nomenclature, taxonomy, and distribution. ZooKeys 66: 29–79. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.66.683 Open access Reference page.

Vernacular names
English: White-lipped Pythons

Leiopython is a genus of snakes in the family Pythonidae.

Species

The genus Leiopython contains the following species:

D’Albertis python, northern white-lipped python, L. albertisii (W. Peters & Doria, 1878)
Southern whitelip python, L. fredparkeri Schleip, 2014
Biak white-lipped python, Leiopython biakensis Schleip, 2008[1]

Description

Female adults of the northern white-lipped python (Leiopython albertisii) grow to an average of about 213 cm in length (6–7 ft), whereas the southern whitelip python can reach up to 300 cm (9.8 ft) in length. They are patternless, except the northern white-lipped python has some light markings on its postoculars,[2] which are absent in the southern whitelip python.[3]
Behavior

Although mostly terrestrial, these snakes can and are known to occasionally climb.[4] White-lipped pythons are reportedly aggressive, though this is reduced in those born and raised in captivity.[5] These snakes have also been observed to regularly regurgitate fur balls from their prey.[6]

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Leiopython.
References

Tallowin, O., O'Shea, M. & Parker, F. 2018. Leiopython biakensis Schleip, 2008. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T42494009A42494012.en
Mehrtens JM. 1987. Living Snakes of the World in Color. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. ISBN 0-8069-6460-X.
Schleip, Wulf D (2008). "Revision of the genus Leiopython Hubrecht 1879 (Serpentes: Pythonidae) with the redescription of taxa recently described by Hoser (2000) and the description of new species". Journal of Herpetology. 42 (4): 645–667. doi:10.1670/06-182R5.1. S2CID 84641193.
"Leiopython Albertisii". Retrieved 14 December 2016.
"White Lipped Python". Python Snake Database. Snake Estate. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
Schleip, Wulf (June 2009). "Leiopython albertisii (Northern White-Lipped Python). Behavior" (PDF). Herpetological Review. 40 (2): 231. Retrieved 14 December 2016.