Australia's Vanished Beasts
Giant Australian Python
Wonambi naracoortensis
The longest surviving snake in Australia today is the carpet python,
which grows to not much longer than 10 feet in length. The extinct
giant Australian python, by contrast, was thought to reach over 16
feet long. It is similar to other extinct giant boids from
Patagonia, Madagascar, and northern Africa, suggesting they all
shared a common ancestor when the southern continents were attached
to one another in the ancient supercontinent Gondwana. Much remains
unknown about W. naracoortensis, however. Did it lay eggs or
give birth to live young? How widely was it distributed? How long
did it live on Earth? Future fossil discoveries may tell.