Quote:
Originally Posted by eminart
Don't you mean SPECIES rather than "sub species"? Pythonidae is the genus, not species.
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by sam
Carpet pythons are a subspecies of python called Morelia...
To answer your question there are no real 'regular pythons' every snake has its own family and subspecies.
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by dannybgoode
Carpet pythons are a sub species like royal pythons, reticulated pythons, Burmese pythons etc...
|
Ahem. *twitches* Actually, the genus is
Python. Pythonidae is the taxonomic family that includes the genus
Python, along with about seven other genera. And while I'm in nerd mode--reticulated pythons are actually in a different genus, namely
Malayopython (see Barker et al. 2015), while carpet pythons are classified in the genus (not subspecies)
Morelia.
Also,
not every snake has its own family and subspecies. Every species is classified in a particular genus, and together the two names make up their binomial (two-part) scientific name. If (and only if) a particular species has multiple subspecies, then a trinomial (three-part) name is applied. One or more genera collectively make up a taxonomic family, which are sometimes further divided into subfamilies.
For example:
Boa constrictor is the scientific name for the (coolest
) species. The genus is
Boa, and the species epithet is
constrictor. Taxonomic rules dictate that the genus (but
not the species nor the subspecies epithet) is always capitalized. In this case, the genus
Boa contains two species:
Boa constrictor and
Boa imperator. The genus Boa is contained within the subfamily Boinae (boas) along with four other genera (
Chilabothrus,
Corallus,
Epicrates, and
Eunectes). There are six other subfamilies that all part of the same taxonomic family: Boidae. That family represents one of six superfamilies (Booidea), including Pythonoidea (pythons and relatives).
As you can see, this can get reasonably complex, but it is basically a matryoshka doll of names that are applied to different categories. All of this is based on the evolutionary history of these snakes, and the various categories represent different degrees of relatedness. Every time we learn something new about that degree of relatedness, we adjust the naming system accordingly, so that it always reflects our up-to-date knowledge of the different groups. Some people find that frustrating, but it is really a fascinating aspect of biology. Sadly, the herp trade largely disconnected from herpetology, the actual study of these wonderful animals, and is thus typically lagging many years behind the current taxonomy.
/Nerd mode off.
Linear Mode
