Bluff Downs Giant Python (Liasis species)
Bluff Downs Giant Python.
Illustration: B Duckworth © Australian Museum
Lived: 4 million years ago (early Pliocene)
Size: Length: 10m
Description: The Bluff Downs Giant Python hunted mammals, birds and reptiles in the woodlands and vine thickets bordering Australian watercourses during Pliocene times. Its nearest living relative is the Olive Python (Liasis olivacea).
The Bluff Downs Giant Python is estimated to have grown to 10m, making it at least a metre longer than the world's two longest snakes - the Anaconda of South America and the Reticulated Python of Asia.
Fossils: Fossilised backbones, teeth and rib fragments of the Bluff Downs Python were found in 1992 at Bluff Downs in north-eastern Queensland.
Did you know?: The Bluff Downs Giant Python was the largest Australian snake ever.
