USGS Science⌕ Search
Home/Archive/USGS

USGS · 70179201

First record of invasive Burmese Python oviposition and brooding inside an anthropogenic structure

Emma Hanslowe·Bryan Falk·Michelle A. M. Collier·Jillian Josimovich·Thomas Rahill·Robert Reed
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

We discovered an adult female Python bivittatus (Burmese Python) coiled around a clutch of 25 eggs in a cement culvert in Flamingo, FL, in Everglades National Park. To our knowledge, this is the first record of an invasive Burmese Python laying eggs and brooding inside an anthropogenic structure in Florida. A 92% hatch-success rate suggests that the cement culvert provided suitable conditions for oviposition, embryonic development, and hatching. Given the plenitude of such anthropogenic structures across the landscape, available sites for oviposition and brooding may not be limiting for the invasive Burmese Python population.

Explore related subjects

Southeastern NaturalistArticle

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Emma Hanslowe, Bryan Falk, Michelle A. M. Collier, Jillian Josimovich, Thomas Rahill, Robert Reed. 2016. First record of invasive Burmese Python oviposition and brooding inside an anthropogenic structure. https://doi.org/10.1656/058.015.sp809

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related USGS reports

USGS2026

Not so fatal attraction: Captive female Burmese Python lures do not improve wild python detection

The ongoing invasion of Python bivittatus (Burmese Python; henceforth, Python) across the Greater Everglades Ecosystem (GEE) has led to near total collapse of the affected mammal community over the past few decades. Management efforts to eliminate Pythons and control their spread have been hampered by the Python's low detectability, which may be improved by using a lure. In controlled settings, male Pythons show an attraction to the scent from reproductively active females. To test the effectiveness of using reproductively active female Pythons as a lure for attracting wild male Pythons in the field, we conducted a paired experiment with wild-caught female Pythons in pens and empty control pens. We monitored Python visitation at all sites using camera traps, which resulted in >3,000,000 photographs that we filtered to 4 independent detections of Pythons using AI software. Python detection was low at sites with female Pythons (3 observations) and control sites (1 observation) over 90 days at 12 sites. Stress associated with captivity may have halted reproductive females from producing pheromones, eliminating the chemosensory cue that lures males. Identifying and implementing husbandry techniques to reduce stress in wild-caught female Pythons could improve the effectiveness of this technique. Little is currently known about the chemical ecology of Pythons, and pheromonal communication in particular, and further research in this area could aid in the identification and production of effective, low-cost lures to increase detection and removal of this invasive species.

Florida↗
USGS2025

A hidden heelsplitter: Distribution of an undescribed endemic freshwater mussel in the Barrens Plateau

Malacologists generally acknowledge that the Alasminota holstonia (Tennessee Heelsplitter) populations in the Caney Fork, Elk, and Duck river drainages in the Barrens Plateau region of middle Tennessee likely represent a closely related, but distinct, species, collectively referred to as Alasminota sp. (Barrens Heelsplitter). Recent surveys indicate that the species persists in at least 5 streams: Collins River, Pocahontas Branch, Witty Creek, and Pepper Hollow Branch in the Caney Fork River drainage and Little Duck River in the Duck River drainage, with evidence of recruitment in 2 of these streams. These findings suggest a restricted distribution and highlight the need for taxonomic assessment through genetic analysis. If elevated to species status, the Barrens Heelsplitter would represent a narrow endemic that may require conservation attention, underscoring the ecological significance of Tennessee's Barrens Plateau Region.

Tennessee↗
USGS2025

Video evidence of a Red-eared Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) preying upon a live Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) duckling in Louisiana

Most animal matter in the diet of the omnivorous Trachemys scripta (Pond Slider) consists of invertebrate prey items such as insects, crustaceans, and mollusks, but often also includes fish and amphibians. Reptiles, birds, and mammals are less commonly reported, and even when found, it is usually unknown if they were captured alive, as Pond Sliders will certainly scavenge dead animals. Though it is well known that Chelydra serpentina (Snapping Turtle) will prey upon waterfowl from the water surface, reports of such encounters are seemingly rare in Pond Sliders. Here, we document with video evidence an adult female T. s. elegans (Red-eared Slider) emerging from the water to successfully take and drown an Anas platyrhynchos (Mallard) duckling.

Louisiana↗