A new genetic analysis of invasive pythons captured across South Florida finds the big constrictors are closely related to one another. In fact, most of them are genetically related as first or second cousins, according to a study by wildlife genetics experts at the U.S. Geological Survey.
The study also found that at least a few of the snakes in the invasive South Florida population are not 100 percent Burmese pythons. Instead, the genetic evidence shows at least 13 snakes out of about 400 studied are a cross between Burmese pythons, which mostly inhabit wetlands, and Indian pythons, which prefer higher ground. The interbreeding between Burmese and Indian pythons probably took place before the animals became established in the South Florida environment, and may have given them greater adaptability in their new habitats.
The South Florida pythons spring from a tangled family tree, with consequences for the species’ future spread that are hard to predict, the USGS scientists said.
“The snakes in South Florida are physically identifiable as Burmese pythons, but genetically, there seems to be a different, more complicated story,” said Margaret Hunter, a USGS research geneticist and lead author on the study published in the journal Ecology and Evolution.
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Image via USGS.