How to Identify the Australian Scrub Python (Identification Guide)
The Australian scrub python, also called the amethystine python, is identified by its iridescent olive to brown coloration with a subtle purplish sheen, an elongated slender body, and status as Australia's longest snake species.
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Key identifying features
The Australian scrub python, also known as the amethystine python (Simalia amethistina / Morelia kinghorni depending on classification), is identified by its long, slender, muscular body and a distinctive iridescent sheen to its scales that produces a subtle purple or amethyst-like flash in bright light, giving rise to its common name.
Coloration & pattern
The background color is typically olive-brown, yellowish-brown, or cream, marked with darker brown or olive irregular blotches or a subtle mottled pattern that can be faint in some individuals, especially compared to the bold blotching of carpet pythons. The most distinctive feature is the iridescent quality of the smooth scales, which reflect greenish-purple highlights when struck by light. The belly is pale cream to white.
Head, eyes & scales
The head is elongated and narrow compared to many other large pythons, with well-developed heat-sensing pits along the upper and lower lips. Eyes are relatively large with vertical pupils. Scales are smooth and glossy, contributing strongly to the characteristic iridescent sheen.
Size & body shape
The Australian scrub python is Australia's longest native snake species, with adults commonly reaching 10 to 13 feet and exceptional individuals reported longer. Despite its great length, the body is proportionally more slender than heavy-bodied pythons such as the carpet python, giving it an elongated, streamlined appearance.
Range & habitat where you'll see it
This species occurs in tropical rainforest and adjacent woodland of far northeastern Queensland, Australia, as well as New Guinea and parts of Indonesia. It is highly capable in trees but also moves extensively on the ground, often found near rocky outcrops, caves, and rainforest margins.
How to tell it apart from look-alikes
The Australian scrub python is distinguished from carpet pythons by its greater length, more slender proportions, less boldly contrasted pattern, and characteristic iridescent sheen. It differs from the green tree python by its brown/olive coloration (rather than green) and much greater overall length, and from the reticulated python of Asia by geographic range, since the two do not naturally overlap.
Frequently asked questions
Why is it called the amethystine python?
Its scales show an iridescent purple or amethyst-like sheen when light strikes them at certain angles.
How big does the Australian scrub python get?
It is Australia's longest snake, with adults commonly reaching 10 to 13 feet.
Is it venomous?
No, it is a non-venomous constrictor.
How can it be told apart from a carpet python?
It is longer and more slender, with a subtler pattern and a distinctive iridescent sheen, versus the carpet python's boldly contrasted blotches and stockier build.