General and descriptive information for these snakes (excluding Pailsus) can be found in Cogger (1993), Hoser (1989) and other general herpetological texts on Australian taxa. Ecological data for Cannia can found in Hoser (1989) and other texts. Captive husbandy information is found in Eipper (2000) and the many excellent references cited therein.

This information is not repeated here.

In the period since both descriptions were written further investigations have been made with respect to distribution and other aspects of the relevant species.

This paper, finalized and hereby dated "July 2001" adds light to the following obvious questions and/or points raised by this and other authors that may or may not have been fully addressed in the original descriptions, including:

Please note that for this paper, the classification system at the genus level first proposed by Wells and Wellington for "Pseudechis" as then known in 1983 and expanded on by them in 1985 is used.

This splitting of the original genus "Pseudechis" as understood by the likes of Cogger et. al. (1983) into three full genera has also been effectively supported by Greer (1997), by Shea, Shine and Covacevich (1993) and others.

In 1997, Greer echoed the previous conclusions of Wells and Wellington (1987) when he wrote:

Shea, Shine and Covacevich (1993) had earlier written:

All this has served to confirm the earlier general arrangement for these snakes by Wells and Wellington into the three genera Pseudechis (comprising porphyriacus only), Cannia (comprising australis and butleri) and Paracedechis (comprising colletti, guttatus and papuanus).

In practical terms for readers, this means that for the major part of this paper the generic arrangement as per Hoser (1998b) is used, meaning that in most if not all cases here, the name Cannia has been interchanged with the former genus name used for australis, namely Pseudechis.

This author suggests that the general inertia by Australian herpetologists to adopt the generic placements as originally proposed by Wells and Wellington (above), including Greer (1997), by Shea, Shine and Covacevich (1993) and others, may stem in part from a general inertia to adopt "Wells and Wellington names", including a very real fear that use of such names by one publishing herpetologist may lead to potential ostracisation by another, (by way of example refer to Wüster et. al. 2001).

This author has no brief for the pair (Wells and Wellington), however in the absence of evidence to the contrary, feels bound to use the names he feels have been validly and properly assigned to the relevant taxa, noting the binding rules of the ICZN and it’s code in this regard, particularly with respect to the rules of nomenclature and priority.

Thus the Wells and Wellington classification is adopted here.

And yes, it can be said that this author accepts the risk of potential ostracisation by some other publishing herpetologists for being among the first to adopt what were in the 1980’s controversial name changes proposed by Wells and Wellington.

Partially in line with the above conclusions, this author erected a new genus in 1998 to accommodate a species of snake sympatric to, but specifically distinct to the King Brown or Mulga Snake (Cannia australis).

Diagnoses for the Genera Pailsus and Cannia have been provided elsewhere (see Hoser (1998b) for Pailsus and Wells and Wellington (1983) for Cannia. These papers more than adequately separate the relevant species from other Australian elapid genera and are not fully repeated here.

This new species, Pailsus pailsei Hoser 1998 is differentiated from the former species group/s by a suite of characteristics, including it’s higher ventral count, it’s generally smaller adult size, more gracile build and generally more aggressive temperament.

Based on morphology alone, the author determined that the species should be placed in what was then thought to be a monotypic genus.

In the area that Pailsus pailsei was originally known from, (Mount Isa district, Queensland), the species was further separated by it’s usually having all single subcaudals, versus a sizeable number (usually more than ten) divided.

Further investigations by this author and others in the intervening years to mid 2001 have not provided any evidence to contradict any of the points raised in the original description.

In the Mount Isa and nearby areas (north to Riversleigh), so far the only area Pailsus pailsei is definitively known from, the species is further separated from Cannia australis by it’s distinctive v-shaped rostral scale. In Cannia australis, the rostral is usually a distinctive horseshoe shape, a trait shared by most other "Pseudechis" species.

At about the same time, this author was made aware of the fact that a similar species was present in Irian Jaya and that was subsequently named as Pailsus rossignollii Hoser 2000. It is similar in most respects to Pailsus pailsei, but can be separated by it’s usually different subcaudal count (usually under 60 in Pailsus rossignolii versus 65 and 69 in the first two definitively known Pailsus pailsei) (also see references to later scale counts below) and more common frequency of a bluish-grey colouration on the head.

At the time the original description of Pailsus pailsei was published, this author stated that he hoped other herpetologists would investigate both this and similar species with a view to ascertaining factors such as distribution and other matters of relevance.

Save for a concerted campaign of misinformation orchestrated by David Williams and Wolfgang Wüster, little if any useful information came to light and/or was published.

However inspection of museum specimens in three states and other inquiries, has yielded information of relevance, some of which is detailed in this paper.

Applications to collect Pailsus pailsei have been lodged with the Queensland National Parks and Wildlife Service, but it is understood that as yet no permits have been issued (Peter Mirtschin, personal communication end 2000, Tim Nias, personal communication 2001).

John Weigel (Weigel 2001b), claims to have got approval to collect what he calls "Pseudechis weigeli" from the WA Wildlife Department (CALM).

To the extent that they have issued a collect permit (or at least given approval for same), the bureaucrats in the department deserve a commendation.

In 1998, this author was promoting and selling copies of his book The Hoser Files - The Fight Against Entrenched Official Corruption (Hoser 1995) in Ballarat (Victoria). The author visited a prominent local herpetologist, Mr. Roy Pails. As per most visitors to his residence, Pails showed this author what he alleged was a new species of "King Brown Snake".

Pails had been doing this for most herpetological visitors for several years and had in fact come under scrutiny from the local wildlife authority (DNRE) in relation to his unusual snakes.

Previously, officials with the local authority had taken extra time to inspect these snakes and concluded that they were in all probability a variant of Cannia australis, as was recorded on Pails’ record books and no action was taken against him.

Legal action against Pails had been considered, but the idea was dropped after the department was unsure as to what, if anything they could charge him with in connection to these snakes.

During the 1998 visit, Pails asked this author to describe the snake as a new species and the author immediately commenced inquiries.

For the record, Pails has also identified other as yet undescribed reptile taxa.

In terms of the new snake, Pails was first asked by this author to justify why his snake was "different".

He gave a host of explanations. However none of them satisfied this author as being diagnostic in that they could definitively separate the snakes (Cannia australis versus this new species).

A subsequent scale count of this "new" species and a series of "normal" Mulga Snakes (Cannia australis) by the pair of us revealed consistent differences in subcaudal counts and the size and shape of the rostral (top-snout) scale between specimens of each species from the same area. Coupled with the suite of other characteristics already outlined by Pails (smaller adult size, slimmer more gracile build, etc., all of which on their own could be said to fit within the normal range of C. australis) this author was satisfied that we had a new and sympatric species.

As the species were sympatric and clearly different, there was no need to engage in molecular biology methods to separate the two and so none was done.

The fact is that most species of reptile known to science were described without having their DNA inspected and claims to the contrary are lies.

However before this author could go ahead and describe the "new" species we had to do a check of the literature to see if there was any descriptions that already fitted the "new" species and had somehow been overlooked and/or later erroneously placed in synonymy with C. australis.

This part was a straight forward process of elimination.

A check of Cogger et. al (1983) and Wells and Wellington (1983 and 1985) revealed several other descriptions since regarded by most authors as being redescriptions of C. australis and/or regional variants.

Through a process of further elimination we were able to ascertain that none of these were of the same "new" species Pails had.

Again the process was simple. In most descriptions the scale counts alone excluded the snakes, while for those which lacked this information, we were able to go to the institution and look at the type and/or contact the relevant curator to do this for us.

Further telephone checks with people at these various institutions and what are best described as well-informed amateurs revealed no other "descriptions" of relevance to our "new" species.

This author then published the description of this snake calling it "Pailsus pailsei" (Hoser 1998b).

And because of his contribution to herpetology, the species and genus was named in honour of Pails.

In terms of scientific descriptions, the whole process was very boring and routine.

The story in regards to Pailsus rossignollii is also similar.

In a casual phone conversation between Italian herpetologist Joe Mara and this author, Mara mentioned a "King Brown Snake" that he had, that hadn’t grown more than three feet in length and he thought may have some kind of unknown ailment.

Further questioning led this author to ascertain that the snake was in fact "Pailsus", which of course explained the relatively diminutive size of the specimen.

Mara also advised it was from the island of New Guinea.

Further inquiries to all relevant institutions and other relevant sources, such as keepers, dealers and the like revealed that all so-called King Brown Snakes from New Guinea were in fact of this species and that it was sufficiently different from the two known Australian specimens to be placed in a separate species.

That description was then submitted and to and after some unexpected delays, published in Litteratura Serpentium in 2000.

During all these periods of inquiry there was never any secret in the fact that this author was describing these snakes and all letters, e-mails and the like sent all over the place to dozens of individuals consistently made this point clear.

Furthermore there was never any indication in relation to any of these descriptions that other people intended describing any of them and based on the information just given, there was no reason to suspect anyone was intending to do so (more on this later).

The basis for the information detailed in this paper was the inspection of museum specimens, live captive animals, and a survey of all relevant (and available) literature, private keepers and the like.

Central elements of this (still ongoing) study included to ascertain the relative status of snakes of the genera Pailsus and Cannia as defined by Hoser (1998b), distribution of and comparisons between "Cannia weigeli" and Pailsus pailsei, and to identify any hitherto unnamed taxa.

Herein follows a brief outline of the material examined.

A list of museum specimens inspected by this author follows later in this paper. Full collection details for those specimens examined are available from the institutions named and have been provided to this author as excel files. These have been placed on the internet and are available for download by following the relevant links from:

http://www.smuggled.com/boycan1.htm

This author has been able to inspect the entire available holdings of "Mulga Snakes" (Cannia australis) at the Queensland Museum and a number from the Australian Museum in Sydney. Furthermore this author has examined a sizeable number of captive specimens from various parts of Australia.

The Museum samples examined by this author have included specimens from all mainland states, excluding Victoria.

Ultimately this author hopes to inspect all available specimens in all State Museums on mainland Australia, as time and other commitments permit.

Neil Sonneman in 2001 inspected specimens labeled as C. australis held at the Western Australian museum. He provided this author with copies of his photos and notes, including details of the holotype of the snake named by Wells and Wellington as "Cannia weigeli".

Obviously this is not yet known and probably never will be.

However there has been considerable misinformation and speculation on this topic published on the internet by various persons and it is therefore appropriate to publish this author’s recent findings in this regard.

By way of example, in a post dated: Sat, 3 Feb 2001 11:20:02 +1100 on australianherps@yahoogroups.com John Weigel claimed to have inspected large numbers of "King Brown Snakes" in Museums and found lots of Pailsus pailsei/Cannia weigeli from the top end of the Northern Territory, going on to state that it was a common species. Weigel even asserted that the type specimen of "Pseudechis australis" was in fact a Pailsus pailsei/Cannia weigeli.

He then claimed to have lost his data in the big reptile park fire of mid 2000, and thus his claims went effectively unsubstantiated.

This author knew Weigel was wrong about the latter argument.

You see we had already ascertained that the type specimen of P. australis was NOT Pailsus pailsei/Cannia weigeli. The subcaudal count alone excluded that possibility!

(For the record, the type specimen of C. australis has 41 single subcaudals followed by 23 divided, a 94 cm snout-vent and 17.2 cm tail (also see McCarthy 2001)).

To date Pailsus pailsei is thought to be sympatric with Cannia australis in all known localities for the former species. Refer to Hoser (1998b) for details.

The same applies for the snake known as "Cannia weigeli". Refer to later in this paper for details.

A detailed distribution map for Cannia australis based on the holdings of the Queensland Museum has been published by that institution by Ingram and Raven (1991). The species is found over most of the state, save for the far south-east.

A detailed distribution map for the species Cannia australis in Western Australia based on the holdings of that State’s museum was published by Smith 1982.

The species as described by Smith 1982 is found in most of the State save for parts of the far south.

Cannia australis as described by Cogger 1983 (as "Pseudechis australis") and others is found in most, if not all parts of the Northern Territory.

Cannia australis as described by Cogger 1983 (as "Pseudechis australis") and others is not known from Victoria, but may occur in the north-west of the State.

It is found in most arid parts of north-west NSW and likewise for South Australia.

Further distribution information for the species is provided by Cogger (1992), Hoser (1989), Longmore (1986), Wilson and Knowles (1988) and Worrell (1972).

Pailsus pailsei remains known only from north-west Queensland in the general vicinity of Mount Isa (see below for details). While the distribution of this form may extend beyond this area, it is now thought relatively unlikely.

Similarly "Cannia weigeli" remains known only from the Mitchell River area of Western Australia (the type locality) and almost certainly does not extend beyond the Kimberley district.

Pailsus rossignollii remains known only from Irian Jaya, in the general vicinity of Merauke and to a lesser extent, west of there.

While it may be found to the east, in Papua New Guinea, this author knows of no specimens.

Furthermore there is no evidence to rebut the assertion by Hoser (2000) that Cannia australis does not appear to occur on the Island of New Guinea.

Following publication of the original description of Pailsus pailsei Hoser (1998b), this author received a phone call from Richard Wells.

Wells stated that he had described a similar snake in 1987 and named it "Cannia weigeli".

Hoser called on Wells to provide a copy of this "description" but Wells said he didn’t have a copy.

Subsequently, John Weigel e-mailed the author with the same story, but also said he didn’t have a copy of the description.

Checks of the Australian and Victorian Museums also failed to locate a copy of this alleged description. The persons spoken to claimed ignorance of the "description", which wasn’t altogether surprising, as this concurred with the author’s inquiries preceding the publication of the first Pailsus description.

Sometime after this, (31 October 1998 to be exact) , Peter Mirtschin faxed this author a copy of this "description", having himself received the "paper" by fax from co-author C. Ross Wellington the same day.

This "description" if that’s the correct word, was written by Wells and Wellington in 1987. It consisted of a typed "paper" and line drawings that was then photocopied and disseminated.

As far as this author can ascertain, only a handful of copies were ever distributed. It was never published in a journal as such and based on the fact that it was merely presented in the form of a few photocopied sheets, it possibly failed to fit the ICZN’s code, namely section 8.1.3. which says to be published properly and in accordance with the code "it must have been produced in an edition containing simultaneously obtainable copies by a method that assures numerous identical and durable copies." (see below).

In this author’s view, the relative lack of copies and the relatively undurable nature of the publication (mere sheets of paper) may mean that the publication is not valid within the bounds of the ICZN’s code.

The content of the description itself, several pages in length, certainly comply with the rules of the ICZN as applied at the time, even if this author disagreed with some of the taxonomic conclusions drawn in the same paper following the formal description of the type specimen.

Further conversations with Richard Wells led to Wells telling this author that he thought that Pailsus pailsei and Cannia weigeli were probably separate species or at least subspecies, with no Pailsus being known from the intervening parts of the Northern Territory.

Wells stated that he agreed with the erection of the new genus Pailsus and that "his" species "weigeli" should be transferred to the genus Pailsus.

At that time the whereabouts of the alleged type specimen of "Cannia weigeli" was not known so this author was effectively unable to proceed further with inquiries into the matter.

Wells directed this author to the Australian Museum (in Sydney) who subsequently directed this author to the West Australian Museum (Perth). The former institution (Ross Sadlier) said they had sent the type specimen to the latter institution.

In 2001, following the e-mail campaign against this author by Williams and Wüster on the internet, Glen Shea contacted this author on 5 February via e-mail (Shea 2001) to tell what he knew of "Cannia weigeli".

He stated that he had published a mention of the Wells and Wellington description in Herpetofauna the following year (by way of synonymy with P. australis) (Shea et. al. 1988) and that he also regarded the Wells and Wellington "paper" as being validly published and/or the Herpetofauna reference somehow validating the original description.

A check of the Shea et. al. paper in Herpetofauna confirmed what Shea said was correct. It also indelibly gave the Wells and Wellington description priority in terms of date, over the Hoser descriptions.

In March 2001, Jeanette Covacevich told this author that by her interpretation of the ICZN rules, she disagreed with the assertion that the Wells and Wellington "paper" (Wells and Wellington 1987) was "published" and/or validated by Shea et. al. 1987.

There have been mixed views on this point expressed to this author by numerous herpetologists, some of whom appear to have axes to grind in one direction or other (not those named above) and as seen by the results published in this paper, the final determination of this matter by herpetologists (other than this author) will probably have no impact on the ultimate acceptance and usage of the species names pailsei and rossignollii as assigned by this author. The reason being that the three names weigeli, pailsei and rossignollii all identify three distinct taxa.

For the benefit of readers of this journal who may be confused, the earlier Wells and Wellington papers published in 1983 and 1985 were published in a proper magazine style journal called the "Australian Journal of Herpetology".

The "Cannia weigeli" description was not.

Thus this author was in a situation whereby the Cannia weigeli description had been effectively overlooked due to the fact that next to no one, including those who should, knew of it.

If nothing else, it appears that Wells and Wellington failed one of the ICZN Code’s recommendations to widely disseminate their "paper".

However in defence of the pair, they were at the time busy fighting a rearguard action to "save" the names they’d proposed in a total of 357 taxonomic and nomenclatural acts/changes in relation to Australasian herpetofauna (in three papers) in the face of actions by other Australian herpetologists to have them suppressed by the ICZN, and so the pair were probably otherwise preoccupied. Refer to Anonymous (1987) and later publications in the Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature relating to ICZN case number 2531 for details.

What was 100% certain to this author by end 1998 was that "Cannia weigeli" and Pailsus pailsei were very similar, if not the same.

The picture of the relationships between the two have now become somewhat clearer.

The two forms, weigeli and pailsei are different taxa (see below) and therefore should carry separate names.

Throughout the period 1998-2001, Wells and Wellington and this author have been united on one important aspect. This has not been so much, what the snakes are ultimately called and/or who is listed as the describer, but rather that they are identified as distinct species and named properly as per ICZN rules.

Thus in this respect at least, we have been united as one.

Finally and notwithstanding the comments above, this author suggests usage of the name "weigeli" be preserved unless and until the ICZN is called upon to rule otherwise and after such ruling is made.

For the first time ever, photos of the holotypes of "Cannia weigeli" and "Cannia centralis", both formally named by Wells and Wellington in the 1980’s are published with this paper as an aid to assist other herpetologists in forming their own views about the taxonomy of these snakes.

Inspection of the entire available holdings labeled "Cannia australis" at the Queensland Museum revealed just one further specimen of Pailsus pailsei. This was specimen number J59015 from Mary Kathleen Dam, Qld. Lat 20.47 S Long 139.59 E.

The snake was a mature male and relatively light in colour (as compared to typical Cannia australis). It had 64 single subcaudals (none divided), a wide v-shaped rostral typical of the species and a divided anal plate.

In an oversight, we failed to count the ventral scales.

All other specimens inspected were confirmed as Cannia australis.

A later inspection of a sizeable sample of "C. australis" from "likely locations" (translated to be the northern third of Australia, excluding most of Queensland) at the Australian Museum, revealed just one specimen of Pailsus pailsei. This was specimen number R11359 from Lilydale Spring, Riversleigh Station, Queensland (Lat. 138.45 E, Long 19.50 S). The snake was like other Pailsus pailsei in being a relatively light animal, but this may in part be due to the fact that it had been collected in 1934. It had 65 single subcaudals (none paired), 219 ventrals, 17 mid body rows and a divided anal plate.

The snake’s sex was not determined, but it had no everted hemipenes. The specimen measured 110 cm total length, with a 92 cm snout-vent.

Thus in reality, the known distribution of Pailsus pailsei remains effectively confined to the hilly country around and north of Mount Isa, in Queensland, covering a known (straight line) distance of about 150 km of relatively uninhabited and unexploited country.

Also see further relevant comments below.

No snakes conforming to "Cannia weigeli" were inspected by this author. However Cannia australis from the Kimberly district, WA, were inspected by this author, indicating that it is sympatric with "Cannia weigeli".

Typical of these snakes was specimen number R111021 from the Australian Museum. This was an adult male from the Mitchell River area of Western Australia (Lat. 125.45 E, Long 15.45 S), the type location for "Cannia weigeli", which was otherwise typical for Cannia australis. It measured 195 cm in total length, 170 cm snout-vent, with 201 ventrals, 42 single subcaudals (excluding numbers 35-36 which were paired), and 14 divided subcaudals, excluding number 3 of these which was single.

(Note: the counts run from the anterior end).

The snake had 17 mid body rows and a U-shaped rostral which is fairly typical of Cannia australis.

Wells and Wellington (1987) give a detailed description of their "Cannia weigeli" snake, including it’s having 17 mid body rows, 222 ventrals and 75 subcaudals (allegedly all single).

No snakes of intermediate characteristics were found from this immediate region, indicating sympatry between the forms - in line with Queensland Pailsus.

The type specimen of "Cannia weigeli" is from here on identified as Pailsus weigeli.

It bears the Australian Museum tag R123995 and WA Museum tag R98871. It is separated from Pailsus pailsei by a suite of characteristics including the following:

A sizeable amount of dark pigmentation on the head and neck scales. This amount is unknown in Pailsus pailsei.

The front nasal scale has a distinct protrusion into the rostral in Pailsus weigeli, while in Pailsus pailsei it runs more or less flush to a single line created by the merging of the borders of the supralabial, nasal and internasal. Because of damage to the head of the type specimen of Pailsus pailsei this is best illustrated by comparing the photos of the Pailsus weigeli type and the Pailsus pailsei depicted on the cover of Monitor 10 (1) 1998 (see Hoser 1998b), and/or looking at the head or photos of Australian Museum R11359 and/or Queensland Museum J59015.

In Pailsus weigeli the third supralabial is relatively large and elongate (rectangular shaped) (the long sides running towards the top of the head), as compared to the same scale in Pailsus pailsei.

Correspondingly, the preocular is much smaller in Pailsus weigeli than in Pailsus pailsei.

In most other respects Pailsus weigeli is essentially similar to Pailsus pailsei.

The known distributions of the two snakes are also separated by a vast distance (well over 1000 km in a straight line).

The colouration of the type specimen of Cannia weigeli conforms with Smith’s 1982 account of juvenile C. australis from the Kimberley region.

Based on this author’s own inspections of C. australis from most of Australia, dark markings on the head and neck are not uncommon in younger specimens of C. australis from some locations and as Smith asserted, they tend to fade with age.

However it remains uncertain if any of the specimens inspected by Smith were in fact C. weigeli.

Since the description of Pailsus rossigollii several private keepers in the northern hemisphere have come forward to advise this author that they possess the species and/or done likewise via the "Kingsnake.com" forums.

All specimens identified as such have conformed to the species as identified by Hoser 2000 and based on subcaudal scale counts received to date, the diagnostic differences between Pailsus rossignollii and Pailsus pailsei remain 100% applicable in terms of separating the species in the absence of any other available data, (as in the usually lower subcaudal counts for the Irian Jaya species).

In spite of this, Messers Williams and Wüster have made a point of deliberately creating confusion by making numerous posts claiming authority on these snakes and then trying to lead these people to believe that they merely have unusual looking Cannia australis (see later).

However by virtue of the fact that nothing further of substance has been published on these snakes and that all further known specimens continue to derive from the Merauke area of Irian Jaya, little further knowledge of the species is yet available.

Pailsus rossignollii is separated from Pailsus weigeli by several characteristics including it’s different head colour, relative lack of dark blotches and makings on the forebody and other characteristics.

In the original published description of "Cannia weigeli" Wells and Wellington state that the type specimen has all single subcaudals. But from the photos seen by this author, it appears that the last two may in fact be divided. However such a feature (if present) does not appear to alter the present status of this species or others that are similar (Pailsus pailsei, Cannia australis), as such a trait (paired subcaudals in limited number) has already been seen in Pailsus pailsei and it has been clearly demonstrated by Pails that it is specifically different to Cannia australis (see Hoser 1998b for further details).

For a taxa such as Cannia australis (recognized here as all snakes previously known as "Mulga/King Brown" snakes, excluding Pailsus), with a near Australia-wide distribution and known regional variants, it is obvious that there must be a number of different species and/or subspecies within the group. Authors have traditionally lumped all together under the one label, or in the other extreme tended to split off a number of regional variants as new species (like Wells and Wellington 1985), a view apparently shared by a number of other respected Australian herpetologists.

Further complicating things has been a higher than expected degree of variation within a single locality, particularly in the Centralian and West Australian parts of the range, as well as clinal variation between regions (as noted by Smith (1982)).

Previously assigned names include the following; derived from Cogger et. al. (1983) and Wells and Wellington (1985):

Naja australis Gray, J.E. (1842). Description of some hitherto unrecorded species of Australian reptiles and batrachians. in Gray, J.E. (ed.) Zoological Miscellany. London : Treuttel, Wdrtz & Co. pp. 51-57 [55). Type data: holotype, BMNH 1946.1.20.39, from Port Essington, N.T.

Pseudechis darwinensis Macleay, W. (1878). Notes on a collection of snakes from Port Darwin. Proc. Linn. Soc. NSW 2: 219-222 [220]. Type data: holotype, AM R31927, from Port Darwin, N.T.

Pseudechis cupreus (part.) Boulenger, G.A. (1896). Catalogue of Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). 3. London : British Museum xiv 727 pp. pls 25 [329]. Type data: none; description based on literature, from "Murray River", NSW./Vic.

Pseudechis denisoniodes Werner, F. (1909). Reptilia exkl. Geckonidae und Scincidae. in Michaelsen, W. & Hartmeyer; R. (eds.) Die Fauna Sudwest-Australiens, Jena : Gustav Fischer 2: 251-278 [258]. Type data: holotype not found, from Eradu, (near Geraldton), WA.

Pseudechis platycephalus Thomson, D.F. (1933). Notes on the Australian snakes of the genera Pseudechis and Oxyuranus Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1933: 855-860 [859 pi 3 figs 1-2]. Type data: holotype, NMV D12355, from East Alligator River, Arnhem Land, NT.

Denisonia brunnea Mitchell, F.J. (1951). The South Australian reptile fauna. Part 1. Ophidia. Rec, S. Aust. Mus. 9: 545-557 [551 fig 21. Type data: holotype, SAMA R3151, from Mount Wedge, near Elliston on the W coast of Eyre Peninsula, SA.

Pseudechis butleri Smith (1982) 35-45 Type data holotype WAM R22345 from 19 KM SE of Yalgoo, WA

Cannia centralis Wells and Wellington (1985) 1-61. Type data holotype AM R60317 from 8 km north of Tenant Creek, NT.

Of these formally described variants, only "australis" as the King Brown or Mulga Snake and "butleri" as the Butler’s Snake have been generally accepted as distinct species by most Australian herpetologists.

Due to the high biodiversity of the Australian herpetofauna and the relatively small number of herpetologists in this country, taxonomy of species at the subspecies level has been largely ignored.

However this author expects higher recognition of reptiles at this level in Australia in future years. Perhaps the trend is being led by the likes of Dr. Glen M. Shea, who by way of example described two new subspecies in 2000, namely, Tiliqua gigas evanescens Shea 2000 and Tiliqua scincoides chimaerea Shea 2000 to identify regional variants of well-known and familiar species.

Based on examination of numerous living and dead specimens in Australian collections and museums, this author has formed the view that butleri is a distinct species from australis, while the same may be true for some of the above described variants.

The type specimen of "australis" has been examined on behalf of this author and is typical for the species as known. It has numerous paired and divided subcaudals. "darwinensis" is regarded as a junior synonym to "australis".

"cupreus" is regarded as also being of the same species as "australis". While it has been impossible to examine the type specimen, "australis" from NSW have been examined and appear not to be substantially different from specimens in Queensland and in turn the Northern Territory, or at least not enough to warrant being treated as a different species. The differences between NSW and NT Cannia australis appear to be clinal, rather than being two well-defined and disjunct gene pools, a position corroborated by the various published distribution maps based on Museum collections (e.g. Longmore 1986).

The snakes known generally as " denisoniodes" from south-west Western Australia are different from "australis" found elsewhere in Australia and should be accorded at least subspecific status.

They attain a far smaller adult size than northern "australis" and differ in other characteristics (see Wells and Wellington (1987) and/or Smith (1982) for details).

"brunnea" are the distinctive Eyre Peninsula form of the Mulga Snake and while similar in build to northern "australis" are noted for the fact that the scales have a distinct dark/light contrast between the anterior and posterior of each scale, giving the snake a two-toned colour appearance.

While this is seen in Cannia australis from elsewhere, it is not as pronounced as in this form.

Furthermore it appears that the variation from north to south and east to west in these snakes may be clinal and that is why many authors refuse to recognise them as separate species (e.g. refer to the photo at the top of page 184 in Greer 1997 for a similar patterning in a Western Australian Cannia australis to a lesser degree).

Wells and Wellington not only recognised " brunnea" as a species in its own right but went further and described a centralian "australis" as a new "species", namely "centralis".

Further investigations are needed to determine whether or not "centralis" is a clinal variant of either "australis" and/or "brunnea", (which is as generally indicated by the findings of Smith (1982) and this ongoing study.

Whatever is finally determined in this regard, it is reasonable to note here, that all conform to the typical stout "australis" form and not the more gracile Pailsus. Refer also to the data for the type specimen of "centralis" as provided in the list of museum specimens examined near the end of the paper.

Shea and others (personal communications) have stated that they only recognise subspecies or species when there is no evidence of a cline between regions.

This author concurs with that view, save for circumstances whereby the zone of clinal variation between populations is relatively small.

And yes, as already inferred, the ultimate determination of whether or not the above named forms are distinct species or subspecies will require a substantial amount of field work in the relevant regions to ascertain whether or not clines are involved and/or any forms are sympatric in regions of potential overlap.

Smith’s description of "butleri" as a distinct species has been accepted without question by most herpetologists and is agreed by this author. It too is of the stout "Pseudechis" form and not the more gracile Pailsus appearance.

Examination of Cannia australis in the Queensland Museum from Queensland revealed a general pattern of Cannia australis having ten or more divided subcaudals (usually over 15).

Exceptional specimens from the Longreach area and to the south of here (Nareena, 48 km South of Longreach) had between 5 and 10 divided subcaudals and one specimen, J45761 from Nareena, had just the last 3 out of 61 subcaudals divided.

However it was later suggested that these specimens may have been faded and misidentified Collett’s snakes (Panacedechis colletti).

Regardless of the proper identities of the snakes from the Longreach area, it remains true that for Queensland at least, it appears that the trait of all single subcaudals, can alone be used by field workers to separate Pailsus pailsei from Cannia australis with a reasonable degree of confidence.

However during this author’s examination of "australis" specimens in other museums and private collections it became clear that there were specimens of this species with all or most subcaudals single. In all other respects these snakes were the typical heavy bodied Cannia australis and not Pailsus spp., and so there was no difficulty in assigning them to Cannia australis, even before resorting to counting either subcaudals and/or ventrals (australis having the lower counts), although in all cases we checked subcaudals at least in order to positively identify the snakes to species level.

These specimens usually, but not always, also had the lower average single subcaudal counts that separate Cannia australis from Pailsus spp.

These specimens tended to come from the Northern Territory and spanned a host of different regions within the state and adjoining areas.

Examples included:

However in these same general regions were Cannia australis that were identical in appearance, but had high numbers of divided subcaudals.

For example:

Typical examples from outside the NT, included:

Excluding the Groote Eylandt and Bathurst Island specimens, there was little if anything to separate the snakes with mainly single subcaudals from those with mainly divided ones, and hence the treatment here of all NT and north-west Western Australian "australis" inspected by myself as being of the same species.

Neil Sonneman observed a similar pattern in WA "australis" in the Western Australian Museum. However his inspection was rushed and he may have inadvertently looked at some Pailsus weigeli at the same time, a point he readily concedes. Also refer to Hoser (2000a) re an alleged Pailsus from Wyndham, WA.

Sonneman also drew this author’s attention to unusual specimens at the West Australian Museum from Koolan, Cockatoo and other Islands in north-west Western Australia, and adjacent mainland areas, stating that further investigation was warranted and provided evidence of dwarfism in some of these island populations.

Koolan Island Cannia australis are described as a new subspecies below.

Groote Eylandt Cannia australis were first brought to this author’s attention when in 1998, immediately following the description of Pailsus pailsei, Victorian herpetologist Rob Valentic reported that he had seen a road-killed specimen of this species on Groote Eylandt in late 1998 and identified it as such by the all single subcaudals.

Save for a small piece published to this effect in Monitor 10 (2/3) (Hoser 1999b), nothing further came to light until the author was able to examine relevant specimens from this locality at the Australian Museum.

These specimens, while evidently of the species Cannia australis, exhibit a number of characteristics different from other Cannia australis and therefore warrant being identified as a different taxa (see description below).

Characteristics as seen include a tendency in scalation (subcaudals and rostral) towards that of Pailsus pailsei. The reasons for this can only be guessed, but will be discussed shortly.

A similar situation was also seen in C. australis from Bathurst Island, herein described as another separate taxa.

As already inferred, it is also likely that specimens from other Islands in northern Australia may warrant recognition at the subspecies level.

Australian Museum Specimen number R135292 from Gemco Mining Lease Area, Groote Eylandt, NT. Lat 14.00 S 136.40 E.

Collected on 18 September 1991. Male.

Scalation: smooth, 210 ventrals, 68 subcaudals, all single except for numbers 64 and 67 which are paired. 126 cm Snout-vent, 151 cm total length (over five feet), 17 Mid body rows (mbr), divided anal. Other details can be gleaned from photos of this animal and/or inspection of the type.

Colour: Generally brownish dorsally, with a creamish white belly. Refer to photos or the type specimen itself, some of which are reproduced with this description.

Australian Museum Specimen number R77369 - from Angurugu Mission, Groote Eylandt, NT. Lat 14.00 S 136.40 E.

Scalation: smooth, 67 Subcaudals - last three paired, rest are single (64). 208 ventrals, 17 mid body rows, divided anal. 105 cm S-V, 127 cm total length. Other details can be gleaned from a photo of this animal and/or inspection of the paratype.

Colour: Generally brownish dorsally, with a creamish white belly. Refer to photos or the type specimen itself.

Australian Museum Specimen number R25776 - from Groote Eylandt, NT. Lat 14.00 S 136.40 E.

Scalation: smooth, 36 Subcaudals - (missing end of tail). 213 Ventrals, 17 mid body rows, divided anal. 100 cm S-V, 111 cm total length (note missing end of tail). This snake has a mangled head and a metal tag. It also has distinctive black markings on the head or neck. Other details can be gleaned from photo of this animal and/or inspection of the paratype.

Colour: Generally brownish dorsally, with a creamish white belly. Refer to photos or the type specimen itself.

Australian Museum Specimen number R73954 - from Groote Eylandt, NT. Lat 14.00 S 136.40 E.

Scalation: smooth, 65 all single subcaudals, excluding number 63 which is paired. 197 ventrals, 17 mid body rows, divided anal, No visible hemipenes. Other details can be gleaned from a photo of this animal and/or inspection of the paratype.

Colour: Generally brownish dorsally, with a creamish white belly. Refer to photos or the type specimen itself.

Australian Museum Specimen number R10232 - from Groote Eylandt, NT. Lat 14.00 S 136.40 E.

Scalation: smooth, 65 single subcaudals followed by a single divided one. Total length of 140 cm, snout vent length Refer to the photo of this specimen depicted on this page, and/or the type specimen itself for further details.

of 116 cm. Relatively unusual among the same of this subspecies to have a "U"-shaped rostral. 17 mid body rows, divided anal. No visible hemipenes. Other details can be gleaned from a photo of this animal and/or inspection of the paratype.

Colour: Generally brownish dorsally, with a creamish white belly. Refer to photos or the type specimen itself.

Australian Museum Specimen number R14798 - from Groote Eylandt, NT. Lat 14.00 S 136.40 E.

This is a poorly preserved specimen missing the end of it’s tail. It has no visible hemipenes.

It measures about 150 cm in length. Similar in most respects to the other paratypes.

Other details can be gleaned from a photo of this animal and/or inspection of the paratype.

Colour: Generally brownish dorsally, with a creamish white belly. Refer to photos or the type specimen itself.

Similar in most respects to Cannia australis from which it can be identified by the following suite of characters. An average lower count of divided subcaudals and a wider rather than horseshoe shaped rostral scale, although this latter trait is not universal as seen from the series of paratypes. This subspecies is also believed to be restricted to Groote Eylandt.

These snakes are separated from Pailsus (all forms) by their larger adult size and more stout build, as typified in the type specimen.

There are also differences in the head scalation, including the fact that the preocular in Cannia australis burgessi tends to of a more triangular shape (in an up/down direction) than seen in Pailsus. Also refer to head photos and/or a comparative inspection of types.

Like other Cannia australis, this taxa is separated from Pailsus by the lower average ventral count (refer to Wells and Wellington 1987, inadvertently corroborated by Hoser 1998b).

Most other scalation and morphological traits tend to fit within the ranges of both Pailsus and Cannia.

Like other Cannia australis, this subspecies is an elapid that is usually an even brownish colour dorsally and a creamish white ventrally. Occasionally there are dark markings between or on the edges of the scales.

Cannia australis newmani sp. nov. from Bathurst Island, is separated from Cannia australis burgessi and most other Cannia australis by its much broader parietal scales.

For further details, refer to the type specimen and/or view photos of it.

Cannia australis burgessi is believed to be a generalized predator feeding on a variety of vertebrates and as a preference is diurnal, though crepuscular or nocturnal in hot weather.

Otherwise this taxa is little known.

A specimen was kept by a reptile keeper in suburban Melbourne in late 1998 (not Valentic) and died within a few months in captivity. The cause of death was not determined and no autopsy was carried out.

The keeper was otherwise experienced with reptiles and generally had no problems maintaining his collection.

It is assumed that this taxa has similar ecology to other Cannia australis.

There are no known conservation threats and the taxa is believed to be common where it occurs.

Named after UK Herpetologist Tom Burgess, publisher of the Reptilian Magazine as a tribute to his ongoing commitments to both the hobby of keeping reptiles in the UK and elsewhere and the scientific study of reptiles.

Australian Museum Specimen number R14374 - from Bathurst Island, NT. Lat 11.77 S Long 130.23 E

Scalation, smooth: 57 Single subcaudals then 2 divided (last two), (59 subcaudals total), 204 Ventrals, no hemipenes visible, 17 Mid Body rows, Anal divided, 71 cm Snout Vent, tail length is 14 cm, total length is 85 cm.

Colour: Generally brownish dorsally, with a creamish white belly. Refer to photos or the type specimen itself shown on the next page.

Cannia australis newmani sp. nov. is separated from Cannia australis burgessi, other Cannia australis (excluding Cannia australis aplini) and Pailsus species by its much broader parietal scales. The line separating each supraocular and frontal is more strongly curved in this subspecies than in Cannia australis, Cannia australis burgessi or Cannia australis aplini, (as described below).

Refer to the type specimen and/or view photos of Cannia newmani for further details.

Like other Cannia australis, this taxa is also separated from Pailsus by the lower average ventral count (refer to Wells and Wellington (1987)).

Like other Cannia australis, this subspecies is a elapid that is usually an even brownish colour dorsally and a creamish white ventrally. Occasionally there are dark markings between or on the edges of the scales, particularly near the head and neck.

This subspecies is currently known only from Bathurst Island, but almost certainly occurs on the immediately adjacent Melville Island, both in the Northern Territory.

Neither the Qld or Australian Museum had specimens from the latter location.

It is believed to be a generalized predator feeding on a variety of vertebrates and as a preference is diurnal, though crepuscular or nocturnal in hot weather.

Named after UK Herpetologist Chris Newman, an editor of the Reptilian Magazine and Ophidia Review as a tribute to his ongoing commitments to both the hobby of keeping reptiles in the UK and elsewhere and the scientific study of reptiles. This is particularly pertinent, as at the current time (2001) there is a strong push by several special interest groups to outlaw the hobby of keeping reptiles in the UK.

Western Australian Museum Specimen number R82994 - from Koolan Island, WA, Lat. 123.47 E Long. 16.08 S.

A well-preserved subadult to adult specimen with 53 single subcaudals (anteriorly) followed by 15 divided ones.

Dorsal colour is generally brown, with a reddish sheen, although the anterior of each scale is lighter than the posterior. Ventrally the snake is a creamish white in colour.

On the head is dark pigment along the scale boundaries, giving each scale an etched appearance.

Western Australian Museum Specimen number R103729 - from Koolan Island, WA, Lat. 123.47 E, Long. 16.08 S.

A well-preserved immature specimen which possesses numerous divided subcaudals.

This snake is essentially an even brown all over (dorsally) with a slight reddish tinge, and creamish ventrally.

Refer to the photo of this specimen, printed below on this page, or the paratype specimen itself for further details.

Cannia australis aplini is similar in most respects to the type subspecies. It is separated from the type subspecies (as indicated by the holotype, BMNH 1946.1.20.39, (deemed here as a typical example) from Port Essington, N.T.), through it’s usually lower divided subcaudal count and generally smaller adult size.

Cannia australis aplini (including the type specimens listed above) does in common with most typical Cannia australis australis have a horseshoe shaped rostral, which serves to separate the species from Pailsus (v-shaped rostral).

In contrast to the type specimen of Pailsus weigeli, (a species likely to be confused with this subspecies) Cannia australis aplini tends to have distinctively broader parietals, and a generally more thick-set build, particularly around the head and neck.

The latter trait on it’s own is usually more than enough to separate the two species (for any person with experience with these taxa).

Other scalation traits for Cannia australis aplini, including ventral, subcaudal and mid body scale rows, and variation within the head shields, fit within the published ranges for the nominate subspecies as described by Smith (1982) and others.

Cannia australis aplini is currently known only from Koolan Island, Western Australia, but may in due course be found to be the subspecies that inhabits other islands in the Bonaparte Archipelago and adjacent mainland areas of the Kimberly district, WA.

It is separated from the subspecies of Cannia australis described above by the traits outlined in those descriptions.

Cannia australis aplini is separated from Cannia australis newmani and Cannia australis burgessi by distribution (all being mutually exclusive).

Cannia australis burgessi is further separated from all other known subspecies including aplini by it’s generally more v-shaped rostral.

The line separating each supraocular and frontal is generally more strongly curved in Cannia australis newmani than in typical Cannia australis australis, Cannia australis burgessi or Cannia australis aplini.

Based on the holdings at the Western Australian Museum, this subspecies (Cannia australis aplini) appears to be relatively unusual in that there is a high degree of variability in colour and subcaudal counts within a single population.

Basically unknown, but presumably similar to the type subspecies, australis from northern Australia. As for all Cannia australis, this form is believed to be diurnal by choice, but crepuscular and nocturnal in very warm weather.

Named after Ken Aplin, a curator at the Western Australian Museum. While this author has not agreed with all the taxonomic views expressed by Aplin (e.g. Aplin and Donnelan (1999) versus Hoser (1998a)), Aplin’s contribution to herpetology, at all levels should be appropriately recognized. This author is certain that the same view is shared by many "private" herpetologists in Western Australia, who have always found Aplin and other herpetologists at the same institution, ready, willing and able to lend a hand to any worthwhile research endeavor.

Smith (1982) p. 44 suggested that Cannia australis may have expanded their range in relatively recent geological times, at the expense of other "Pseudechis", including colletti and guttatus, which as a result tend to have relatively restricted distributions.

Wells and Wellington (1987) in effect said much the same thing, when they asserted:

While it is true that in many respects Pailsus appears intermediate between Pseudonaja and Cannia, this author’s view is that Pailsus split from Cannia group well after "Pseudechis"/Cannia and Pseudonaja diverged.

However as Pailsus is clearly of the more "standard" elapid form, it would be reasonable to assume that the archaic stock was more in line with Pailsus than Cannia.

And in line with Smith’s conclusion in relation to Cannia australis usurping other "Pseudechis" in recent geological times, it appears that the same reasoning could be applied to Pailsus, which appears to have declined at the expense of Cannia, the result being a relatively patchy and disjunct distribution in Australia.

On the other hand, in southern New Guinea, where it appears that Cannia australis has failed to appear and/or Panacedechis papuanus is sufficiently differentiated from Pailsus, these snakes remain relatively common and prominent where they occur.

This author understands that Panacedechis papuanus has been found on Sabai Island in Torres Strait, while no Pailsus are known from this area. On that basis (and further based on the crude assumption that Pailsus do not occur in the Torres Strait area) it may be reasonable to infer that even Panacedechis papuanus (thought to be the more widely distributed) is a more recent entrant to the New Guinea fauna and that it’s relatively greater distribution there has been to an extent at the expense of Pailsus.

This is even though both remain locally abundant in the Merauke area of Irian Jaya.

A credible and contrary view may be that both Panacedechis papuanus and Pailsus entered New Guinea at about the same time and that Panacedechis papuanus has simply been more successful there, with the populations on the islands to the immediate south merely being part of a more recent migration towards Australia.

Furthermore while it is hard to speculate as to the evolutionary advantages/disadvantages or roles of character manifestations, including single versus paired subcaudals in elapids such as Pailsus and Cannia, it is reasonable to assume that the manifestation of these traits (one way or other) coincides with other adaptations that enable the snakes to survive better in their environments.

Kluge (1974) noted "character displacement" in Lialis jicari from Southern New Guinea as compared to northern specimens (sometimes known as Lialis cuneirostris).

It appears that the same phenomena may have occurred in Cannia australis in northern Australia. Thus in regions known to have Pailsus spp. it appears that Cannia australis are more likely to have lower ventral counts and higher counts of divided subcaudals (e.g. Queensland). In areas where only one form is known to occur (e.g. Groote Eylandt), the Cannia australis tend towards more intermediate characteristics, in that subcaudal counts are up and there is a far stronger tendency towards all single subcaudals and/or even the rostral may tend towards being V-shaped rather than horseshoe shaped.

It’s assumed that these observed traits are indicators of other as yet unobserved character manifestations.

Assuming the "character displacement" phenomena to be real in Cannia australis in relation to Pailsus spp. it becomes reasonable to infer that where this is detected (Cannia australis tending towards Pailsus traits) the likelihood of Pailsus occurring in the same areas is in fact reduced. On that basis it would appear that if Pailsus do in fact occur in the Northern Territory (presumed highly likely), their distribution would at best be very patchy.

However the areas most worth looking at would be places such as Port Essington, where Cannia australis with high divided subcaudal counts are known.

Furthermore, of note is that while Pailsus are so far known in Australia only from very rocky locations, the reverse seems to be the case in Irian Jaya. The Merauke area is essentially without rocks.

This may further indicate that Pailsus have in fact been displaced from these non-rocky habitats in Australia by the apparently more effective and competing Cannia australis, with Pailsus only holding out in a few relictual habitats.

Mengden, et. al. 1986 presented a series of morphological, electrophoretic, karyotypic, ecological and behavioral data in order to make an assessment of the genus "Pseudechis".

They in turn concluded that this was a monophyletic group.

Wells and Wellington (1987) revisited this assessment and using the same data, they concluded to the contrary, that their own earlier division of the genus "Pseudechis" was correct. They had split the group into Pseudechis (being porphyriacus only), Cannia (including australis and butleri) and Panacedechis (including colletti, guttatus and papuanus).

As already mentioned at the start of this paper, this author concurs with this division.

Furthermore, the fact that Pailsus has apparently held out far better against Panacedechis in Southern New Guinea than it appears to have against Cannia in northern Australia could be taken as further evidence to support the division of "Pseudechis" into these other genera.

Based on initial and comparative observations between Cannia and Pailsus in Australia, versus Panacedechis and Pailsus in New Guinea, it would be fair to assume that had Cannia made it into the Merauke area of New Guinea, then Pailsus would likely have been exterminated from there.

Notwithstanding this assessment, it may be that Pailsus is in relative decline in New Guinea as demonstrated by their relatively restricted range when compared to Panacedichis papaunas.

It’s understood that "Pseudechis" (comprising Pseudechis, Cannia and Panacedechis) are being genetically tested at the moment (2001) by Ulrich Kuch and others with a view to reassessing the relationships between the known species. Following the original Pailsus description in 1998 this author provided Kuch with a slough of the skin to aid his tests.

While his data is welcome, it is likely that herpetologists will dispute the taxonomy of these genera for some time regardless of what data he produces.

This is in part due to differing interpretations of the same facts.

Furthermore this ongoing dispute will no doubt be fuelled in part from an inertia by some people to use correctly assigned "Wells and Wellington names" in the likely event that their stated position is supported by the data.

Also refer to the warning on DNA testing, venom tests and other matters later in this paper.

This author’s definition of Pailsus is based on a raft of reasons and characteristics known in the snakes. However they initially hinged in the main on the physical morphological characteristics of the snakes as compared to their closest relatives (thought to be Cannia).

This being the smaller size and much more gracile build. Behaviorally the snakes are also considerably more aggressive (as a rule) and do not settle down in captivity in the same manner as most Cannia.

Because medium to large elapid snakes in Australia are usually physically conservative in terms of scalation, size, shape and colour it is not at all surprising that Pailsus are similar in many respects, not just to Cannia, but also Oxyuranus and Pseudonaja (the dominant genera of large elapids here in Australia).

In fact in terms of build and temperament, Pailsus is more like the latter two genera than the former, and all other "Pseudechis" as defined by Mengden, et. al. 1986.

Even Wells and Wellington (1987) suggested that Pailsus (then called "Cannia weigeli") was somehow an intermediate form between the genera Pseudonaja and Cannia. In which case this was itself an argument for placing either Pailsus in a genus on its own or merging the three.

As the latter alternative was untenable, the only other logical one was the former. On this basis, this author believes that the three species currently identified under the generic name Pailsus, should remain placed within this genus unless and until compelling evidence to the contrary appears.

Furthermore, if one accepts the conclusions of Smith (1982) and Wells and Wellington (1987) to the effect that Cannia australis is of relatively recent stock and that it has displaced earlier forms, and then combine this assertion (based on distributional evidence) with the relationships within "Pseudechis" as published by Shea, Shine and Covacevich (1993) p. 308, in turn derived from Mengden et. al. (1986), one sees that Cannia butleri is presumed to be potentially more archaic than the more widespread Cannia australis. Even if the reverse is true, (australis the more archaic form) it all points to the common ancestor being a large and stocky snake as per the genus Cannia as now known. Pailsus (all three forms) do not fit this prototype, indicating at best, divergence a long way back in geological time and therefore should for the time being remain placed within a separate genus.

Furthermore, the wide and apparently disjunct distribution of Pailsus (Qld, WA, Irian Jaya), effectively precludes any suggestion that the Pailsus form is recently derived.

One should also note that the apparent absence of Cannia australis from southern New Guinea and/or wide areas of the region, also suggest that the evolution of this species (Cannia australis) has been recent, bearing in mind recent (in geological terms) rises in sea level preventing migration across the Torres Strait, and further noting that other northern Australian forms such as Lialis burtonis and Chlamydosaurus kingi had already been able to get across to southern New Guinea / Irian Jaya.

The present distribution of Pailsus rossignollii (confined to southern Irian Jaya / southern New Guinea) also indicates that it’s basal stock came from the Australian side, particularly when reconciled with the known distribution of cogeners Pailsus pailsei and Pailsus weigeli.

Australians and others with an interest in Pailsus/Cannia are advised in the first instance to inspect at least some known specimens of Pailsus pailsei and/or Cannia weigeli.

With specimens now held at Australia’s major museums, including at Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne, this is not any longer a difficult task for most seriously interested persons. Particularly so, as the relevant curators have had these specimens pointed out to them and can presumably access them without too much difficulty.

As a second option, persons are directed to read and re-read the relevant descriptions by this author and study the various published photos, including those with this paper and those of the live Pailsus pailsei, depicted on the cover of Monitor 10 (1) (Hoser, 1998b).

In many respects, it is actually easier to examine the photos than the specimens themselves.

Ted Johansen (of Browns Plains, Brisbane, Queensland), stated that he had found a road-killed snake some years back near Yeppoon in Queensland that he thought fitted the profile of Pailsus pailsei.

Ted Johansen said that he recalled it having all single subcaudal scales. In spite of this claim, (and further noting that Johansen is generally credible) this author thinks it unlikely that any Pailsus will emerge from that region and at this stage can offer no decent explanation in relation to Johansen’s account.

The Queensland Museum has a relatively good coverage of specimens from within Queensland and based on this author’s inspections of them, believes that no more Pailsus are likely to be found in that state, save for the far north-west, which is from where they are known already.

New South Wales and South Australia are not believed to be likely places for Pailsus and this has been confirmed via the author’s looking at numbers of live and preserved snakes from both states.

Although this author has inspected a sample from the Northern Territory and to a lesser extent Western Australia, these are the two states deemed most likely to have more Pailsus (as in where these species are likely to have wider ranges). Also refer to comments in Hoser (2000a).

The State Museums in each state are both likely to have further specimens of Pailsus, and although it is this author’s intention to scrutinize both collections, this may be some years away, due to other competing tasks.

And based on results so far (as outlined above), it is also unlikely that either institution will actually have a great number of Pailsus specimens - in spite of their sizeable holdings of "Cannia australis".

Notwithstanding this, herpetologists in the field are also most likely to make discoveries of specimens in the tropical regions of these two states, particularly in hilly areas and perhaps on some offshore islands.

Should a person find a "King Brown Snake" of more gracile build than usual, a high subcaudal count (215 or over), all or mainly single subcaudals and a distinctive v-shaped rostral scale, then they may well have a Pailsus.

If possible, these specimens should be legally collected and/or lodged in the nearest institution of note.

This author welcomes any verifiable information in this regard.

Besides a single and aged, live specimen of Pailsus pailsei in Victoria, there are still no known captives in Australia. That’s notwithstanding a number of rumors heard by this author since 1998.

It is important that specimens be brought into captivity, bred and studied. This is true for both Pailsus pailsei and Pailsus weigeli and any other related taxa that may yet await discovery.

Furthermore, based on a number of obvious misidentifications of Cannia australis with all or most subcaudals single, thought in the first instance to be Pailsus, that have come to the attention of this author, it can be expected that similar misidentifications will happen again.

On that basis this author issues a very strong warning to researchers looking at other properties in these snakes, including venom properties, DNA and the like, which do not by necessity involve a sighting of the source specimens by the individuals doing the study.

The risk of a misidentified snake being used and thereby confusing the final results is potentially large and therefore preventative steps should be taken.

In this author’s view, this should include (preferably) sighting the specimen and counting the scales (ventrals, subcaudals (single and paired), size and shape of the rostral and parietals), in order to positively identify the specific status of the animal in question, and/or have this information available so that if and when doubts are raised later on, they can be effectively resolved.

By way of example, this author has facilitated venom and DNA tests on Pailsus, based on the sole known living specimen, held by herpetologist Roy Pails, a specimen for which all relevant data is known.

In the case of New Guinea Pailsus the above pre-empted problems are less likely, because it seems that there are no Cannia australis on the island. Thus identification of the source snake is less likely to be in error.

Fortunately there appears to be a reasonable interest in Pailsus rossignollii in the USA and Europe and more should become known about these snakes as hobbyists breed them and publish their data.

Fortunately these snakes are still being exported from Indonesia by the local dealers there.

Locally in Irian Jaya, feral animals such as Cane Toads (Bufo marinus) and other species may cause a long-term threat to the species due to the areas they are known to occur in.

Three Island forms of Cannia australis have been described as new taxa in this paper. This author expects further distinct variants to be found in various islands to the north of Australia, if and when further investigations are carried out.

It is common knowledge that islands are an excellent catalyst for a strong genetic push towards speciation. This is because of the small and isolated gene pools captured in these areas, with little if any inflow from outside combined with the often very different habitat and predator/prey circumstances of such habitats when compared to adjoining "mainland" habitats.

In southern Australia a number of island forms of Tiger Snake (Notechis) have been formally described at either subspecies or full species level. Trends towards giantism or dwarfism, dictated by available food sources has been documented in the literature (including Hoser (1989)).

Based on inspection of limited samples of Cannia and Acanthophis from islands along Australia’s northern coastline and elsewhere, it appears a similar speciation push is happening and has probably been going on for the period since sea levels rose to current levels (since the last Ice Age), when many areas now islands were joined to the mainland.

In the case of Cannia, populations this author deems in need of further study include those on the many Islands of the Bonaparte Archipelago in north-west Western Australia and Mornington Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria (Lat. 139.30 E, Long 16.30 S), any of which may have either Cannia or Pailsus.

Based on Longmore 1986, there are no records for Cannia australis from any Torres Strait Islands and checks should be made of any possible populations on these islands, as well as other islands in the general area between New Guinea and Australia.

It is noted that "normal" Cannia australis are known from the mainland areas in adjoining Cape York Peninsula.

For Pailsus rossignollii, and/or potential Cannia australis, it is important to ascertain the exact distribution of these species in New Guinea.

Obviously with the high level of political instability in the Irian Jaya / PNG border region, this is not an easy task.

However the area most in need of survey work (meaning most likely to yield positive results) is probably the coastal region between Moibut, PNG (Lat 9.10 S, Long 141.55 E) and Merauke, Irian Jaya, (Lat. 8.28 S, Long.140.2 E).

A scientific paper is not normally the place to "attack" another person and/or launch a defence of one’s own good name. However the circumstances surrounding the activities of David Williams and Wolfgang Wüster in the period 1998-2001 are hardly ordinary and thus have to be addressed (refer to the Wüster, Williams and other relevant citations at the rear of this paper).

The two men have "spammed" thousands of e-mails and internet posts falsely accusing this author of innumerable crimes, various unethical and improper acts and other general misdeeds.

By virtue of the sheer number of posts, their wide dissemination through use of the new technology and the "venom" in some of these posts, it is appropriate that some of the more serious lies and outlandish claims made, be formally corrected for the public record.

Wüster and Williams have attempted to mask some, but not all of their posts as "scientific comment", but even a cursory assessment of their statements (some of which are cited at the end of this paper) which are replete with lies, half-truth’s, distortions and blatant double standards, reveal that their agenda has absolutely no scientific component whatsoever and is instead one purely of attack on this author’s character and integrity.

In 1993 this author published Smuggled: The Underground Trade in Australia’s Wildlife which detailed warts and all the Australian wildlife trade, both legal and illegal.

In that book this author detailed some of the smuggling activity by Queensland snakie David Williams, who in February 1992 pled guilty and was convicted of the relevant smuggling charges in a Queensland court.

In the sequel Smuggled-2 this author detailed more of Williams’ activities; this time his failed Austoxin venture in New Guinea which turned out to be nothing more than a front for smuggling snakes from New Guinea to the northern hemisphere.

This author chose not to detail other criminal activities by Williams on the basis of relevance.

Williams didn’t sue, presumably because all that was published about him had long been on the public record (including having been reported in the tabloid daily papers) and was true and correct.

However because he was adversely named in two "Hoser books" Williams has since then made innumerable cowardly attacks on this author and his credibility at every opportunity.

This has included on various internet forums, where more recently he has been joined by his small band of followers including the likes of Wolfgang Wüster et. al..

And for the record, in this country (Australia), the credibility of Williams as a herpetologist (or much else) is very little.

Wüster, an academic based in a British university, similarly has little, if any documented expertise in Australian reptiles. And based on his writings, Wüster’s alleged qualifications can only be called into serious question.

In early 2001, when the above-mentioned "debate" turned against Williams and Wüster, principally when the Williams scientific fraud was exposed (see below) he cut off access to his list server for those who were posting against him. When the same thing happened on John Fowler’s much larger Australian Herps list and Kingsnake.com forums Williams threatened to sue the list managers if they allowed the posts to remain, so they were wiped.

When Victorian herpetologist Neil Davie pointed out fraudulent and/or unethical practices by Williams and Wüster on the Kingsnake forums, Williams petitioned list owner Jeff Barringer to have Davie’s access cut off and it was.

Other’s who similarly pointed out fatal flaws in arguments by Williams and Wüster were similarly vilified and attacked by the pair, including Bernard Frome, Pete Brammell, Paul Hackett, Benjamin Dowse, and Scott Eipper (a small number of their posts are cited at the end of this paper) and others.

Wüster, an erstwhile ally of Williams also posted lies and misinformation about this author on various lists, with a spamming ability that most mass-marketers would only envy, and yes, now some of the same lies have since even been published in "hard copy" in the generally resepcted journal Litteratura Serpentium in June 2001.

This mass posting activity didn’t help Williams and his case completely as other correspondents, including Bernard Frome and Pete Brammell had also got onto the case and then independently exposed Williams and Wüster for all they had. Williams then made threats and had all posts pointing out his misdeeds wiped from the various servers.

We sought legal advice in relation to suing Williams for defamation way back in 1999 in relation to another unrelated character assassination by him of this author on the internet. We were advised against suing him on the basis that he had a bad credit history (debts totaling tens of thousands of dollars) and we would be unlikely to recover any financial damages from him in the event that we won.

Bearing in mind the fact that this author and his publishing company, Kotabi successfully got court issued damages awards against two other persons, namely Neil Mayger (For $7,000) and Adam Anthony Zoccolii (for $24,000), the latter in a defamation action, and we were then unable to recover our money because they both declared bankruptcy, we were not keen to go down this path again.

And hence Williams and his cohorts continue to peddle lies and other defamatory statements against this author, safe in the knowledge that we have effectively no legal redress.

Effectively the same Wüster piece published in Litteratura Serpentium in June 2001 was first published on Kingsnake.com in January the same year (on January 22, 2001 at 11:29:07 to be exact), and then widely circulated elsewhere. It was rapidly discredited by numerous correspondents (e.g. Frome (2001a, 2001b), Brammell (2001a, 2001b, 2001c, 2001d)).

Notwithstanding this, Wüster then "shopped" the piece among friends and people who owed him favors in order to get some other "names" as "co-authors" to give his wild claims added credibility, before it was re-sent to the editor of Litteratura Serpentium on 5 May 2001 (four months later) (see van Aken 2001a, 2001b).

This editor (Gijs van Aken), fell for the ruse, and so Wüster’s already discredited lies got a second running.

This author sent the editor of Litteratura Serpentium a response systematically rebutting all Wüster’s lies and allegations and of the same length as Wüster’s original piece.

But the editor, who had in fact invited this author’s response, went back on his word and e-mailed this author and said he wasn’t going to print the response.

That response has since been posted at:

http://www.smuggled.com/LitSer1.htm

Besides a constant string of e-mails to the various lists claiming that Hoser’s various books are fiction - at least in terms of himself, Williams began his attacks on Hoser’s credit in other ways in late 1998.

And yes for the record, all the criminal activity by Williams as detailed in the Smuggled books is 100% true and correct and Williams knows it.

Should anyone have any doubts, a check of the magistrates courts will reveal all.

In order to attack this author’s credibility, Williams decided to run a campaign to stop any herpetologists from using Hoser assigned scientific names.

The first point of attack was the description of Pailsus pailsei.

Williams made a number of posts stating that the species was not valid and that it was nothing more than an underfed King Brown Snake.

Subsequently he posted an "online paper" at:

http://www.uq.edu.au/~ddbfry/index.html

in November 1988 and numerous other places so as to ensure that it was picked up by all the major internet search engines.

Using a series of rubbery figures and a comparison of the subcaudal counts between Pailsus and Panacedechis, (which has about as much relevance as comparing apples with sausages), Williams ended his paper by declaring Pailsus pailsei as being synonymous to Cannia australis.

Williams promised to publish more in a "peer reviewed journal" by end of 1998, but three years later, no such publication has appeared.

The online paper, co-authored by Brian Starkey is now known as Williams and Starkey version 1.

Williams was evidently unaware that the code of the ICZN does not allow for the "devalidating" of scientific names quite so easily and that once a name has been assigned to a valid taxa it is effectively there for ever, provided that the taxa has not already been named.

Notwithstanding this, Williams then posted on numerous internet lists the same idea, for the following two years.

His erstwhile friend and colleague Wolfgang Wüster got onto the same caper and posted far and wide the same idea.

Between them, they sent thousands of e-mails and posts and using text-book bullying tactics they aggressively attacked all those who defended this author’s taxonomy or his good name.

Wüster’s posts were even more curious as up until at least early 2001, he had (by his later admission) never seen a Pailsus and yet had been prostituting himself as a taxonomic genius with regards to these animals and spamming everyone accordingly.

By way of example, as late as July 2001, you could find Wüster’s comments denying the existence of Pailsus on the internet at Peter Uetz’s site at:

http://zeta.embl-heidelberg.de:8000/srs5bin/cgi-bin/wgetz?-e+[REPTILIA-species:’Pailsus_SP_pailsei’

It is quoted below:

Now reading this first in 1999 and again in 2001, you’d be led to believe that Wüster in fact had expertise on these snakes and so was somehow qualified to voice an expert opinion.

But in early 2001 after the Williams/Wüster fraud (see below) became all too obvious, he attempted to distance himself from David Williams when he told the australianherps@egroups.com list:

Now this comment is even more curious as Wüster has since written in Litteratura Serpentium, that this author had rushed to print with his Pailsus descriptions.

As recently as 23 January 2001, (after the publication of both Pailsus descriptions) David Williams posted on Kingsnake.com the following condescending comment to Scott Eipper:

"I hate to burst your bubble son, but there is absolutely no conclusive evidence whatsoever to ‘prove’ that these snakes (Pailsus) are anything other than local variants of Pseudechis australis."

That the Williams and Wüster lines about Pailsus pailsei and Pailsus rossignollii being nothing more than unusual Cannia australis was having "success" and/or gained some "legitimacy" was easily demonstrated by the currency their arguments gained among ill-informed herpetologists and novices.

Typical of this outcome was seen on two websites managed by Patrick Hughett, (Hughett 2001a, 2001b) both of which in due course made it clear that he had read the Hoser papers, and then that Wüster, Williams and Mark O’Shea all regarded Pailsus rossignollii as being merely "Pseudechis australis".

A series of 27 posts by Hughett on Kingsnake.com (Hughett 2001c) , intersperced by a series of misinformation posts by Williams and Wüster in June and July 2001 also put a date on the creation of the website and showed that the Williams/Wüster claims about Pailsus rossignollii being nothing more than "Pseudechis australis" actually continued well beyond the time that the Wüster et. al piece had been submitted for publication in the journal Litteratura Serpentium, and even after it had been published.

Now the problem with Williams and Wüster wasn’t the fact that they were arguing tripe. This author could handle that. The problem was that their position was about as fixed as Melbourne’s weather.

In other words it liked to "chop and change".

Now anyone can see from the dates above that well after BOTH Pailsus descriptions were published by this author, both Williams and Wüster were still maintaining the lie that they were the same thing as Cannia australis.

Now bearing in mind neither men had seen Pailsus, they were brave to be venturing such a strong and "expert" opinion, but in this democratic world, this author was effectively unable to stop them.

And perhaps here it is also worth mentioning that as far back as 1999, this author realised that arguing with the likes of Williams and Wüster was a waste of time and so for the main part, this author has taken leave from online forums and not responded to the tirade of attacks from the two men.

However, here in Victoria, where most prominent hobbyists have been to Pails’ residence and actually seen Pailsus in the flesh, nobody disputed the fact that they were different from Cannia australis, and so it was from this state (Victoria) that the strongest defence of this author came from.

And it also appears that many individuals who defended this author’s good name against the attacks by Williams and Wüster did so, not necessarily out of faith in this author’s work or friendship with the author, but rather because they had axes to grind against Williams over failed snake-trading deals and the like.

The matters are unrelated to this author, and a summary of some of these nefarious and failed deals, criminal activity and the like by Williams and associates was posted by Eipper on Kingsnake.com in three separate posts in July 2001 (Eipper 2001a-c).

The details are far too extensive to post or even summarize here in this paper.

Notwithstanding all the above, by mid 1999 the Williams/Wüster claims against the validity of Pailsus (at the species level at least) looked more and more dodgy as more and more people looked into the two men’s pseudoscience.

This became even more so after the publications of Hoser (1999a, 1999b), Sutherland (1999) and the emergence of the Wells and Wellington description of "Cannia weigeli", all of which tended to indelibly confirm the original Pailsus description as describing a hitherto unrecognized taxa.

Following publication of the Pailsus rossignollii description in late 2000, a number of correspondents from outside Australia weighed into the debate and also took on Williams and Wüster and their dodgy claims that Pailsus was nothing more than an underfed Cannia australis.

It was by this stage obvious that the Williams/Wüster claims lacked merit and their arguments accordingly went down the drain.

It was then that the pair then engaged in what was perhaps their biggest stunt yet.

Both started to claim that this author had somehow stolen their information and "naming rights" for the species Pailsus rossignollii.

The claim was curious based on the fact that they’d been denying it was different for the previous two years.

The pseudoscience as practiced by the pair then broadened into a more comprehensive attack on this author’s credibility.

It ran (and still runs) essentially along the following lines,

In other words this author is to be damned no matter what he does.

The fraud was first identified by Geelong-based herpetologist Neil Davie, who posted the details on Kingsnake.com.

Fortunately this was one of the few occasions that David Williams was not aggressively posting messages from his home computer and a sizeable number of herpetologists archived the relevant documents before Williams could wipe them from the internet, a few hours later.

Other herpetologists, including Richard Wells also agree that what occurred was a serious case of scientific fraud.

Here’s what happened!

For the benefit of readers, the original version of the online paper by Williams and Starkey, published in late 1998 is now generally known as "Version 1".

It was posted at: http://www.uq.edu.au/~ddbfry/index.html

The same view as published in that paper was widely endorsed by Wüster and O’Shea who both claimed to be working with Williams.

(In fact as recently as 30 June 2001 at: 17:09:41:, O’Shea is on the record in a post on Kingsnake.com as claiming Pailsus rossignollii "are still classified as "King Browns"), see any of Hughett (2001a-c)).

Now bearing in mind that this Williams and Starkey online paper and similar comments had been posted far and wide by these people, there was absolutely no secret in the "fact" that these people thought that Pailsus was nothing more than an underfed and undersized "Pseudechis australis".

Now on that basis one would have to be a psychic to realise that this was a "front" so that the same group could go ahead and prepare a description of a New Guinea Pailsus without Hoser’s or anyone else’s knowledge, further bearing in mind that it was common knowledge that this author was looking at New Guinea Pailsus.

The scientific fraud really started in early 2001 when Williams and Wüster got onto the internet and started to claim that Hoser had somehow stolen their naming rights to this species (P. rossignollii).

This followed by Williams reposting his paper on the internet at another site, namely:

http://www.Kingsnake.com/toxinology/snakes/taxonomy.html

However this time there were a few noticeable alterations and hence this paper has since become known as "Version 2".

One alteration was the address for Brian Starkey. That part was benign.

The date at the bottom had also been removed.

That act on it’s own, one could suppose was also benign.

But what wasn’t quite so benign was a citation tacked into the "paper" and cited in full at the end.

It read as follows:

"O’SHEA MT, WILLIAMS DJ, WÜSTER W, BIGILALE IH, and STARKEY BA (1998) A new species of highly venomous elapid snake of the genus Pseudechis from southern coastal Papua New Guinea - taxonomy, conservation status and medical implications. Unpublished (in preparation)."

The key element here was to add credibility to the new assertion Hoser had deliberately sought to steal naming rights to the species.

However this new addition didn’t quite push Williams, Wüster, et. al. over the line.

You see the ICZN’s code of ethics (which Wüster et. al. are also falsely claiming this author has violated) gives a 12 month limitation on the so-called "hands off" period.

This is so as to stop people "claiming" species and then effectively monopolizing all work on them for years on end while they think about publishing a description.

Even with this fraudulent addition, Williams, Wüster, et. al. failed to place this author outside of the ICZN’s code of ethics.

Once Williams’ attention was drawn to this shortcoming in his "paper" out came what’s now become known as "Version 3".

This appeared on Kingsnake.com following requests by various correspondents and was posted by Williams at:

http://www.Kingsnake.com/forum/venom/messages/31762.html

This one had an added in text citation ‘O’Shea et. al. (1999)’, thus effectively placing Hoser inside the 12 months "hands off" period.

The problem this time was that Williams forgot to do the same to the citation at the end of the paper, which still had the 1998 date.

Williams in his haste had also neglected to remove all the earlier versions of his paper that he’d smattered all over the internet on different servers (including the two url’s named above).

As already noted, that had been to take advantage of the benefits of so-called "search engines" to ensure maximum exposure for his "paper".

When Davie posted details of the frauds and the various websites through the various herpetological list servers, people everywhere downloaded their own copies in anticipation of Williams wiping them from the world wide web.

This Williams did a few hours later.

The three versions of the perennially morphing paper were then posted on Kingsnake.com by Pete Brammell and yes, have since been archived all over the place.

And furthermore, Wüster came in and actively supported the Williams fraud with a whole raft of lame excuses.

In a post to Kingsnake.com dated February 03, 2001 at 04:19:28: Wüster stated that the scientific fraud perpetrated by Williams had occurred but then went on to say that it wasn’t "relevant" to their arguments.

He then went on to threaten to sue anyone who dared repost the earlier versions of the fraudulently altered paper claiming "copyright" over the material.

But Wüster was right about one very important thing.

It was his side that had the copyright on committing scientific fraud!

And yes, in spite of repeated requests from numerous other concerned correspondents, Wüster refused to divorce himself from the Williams/Starkey fraud.

Now in fairness to Mr. Starkey, David Williams’ business partner in "Black Knight Reptiles", who incidentally and recently pled guilty to illegally smuggling a Black-headed Python (Aspidites melanocephalus) through the post and was fined by a magistrate’s court, this author has no evidence to show that he was a part of the Williams fraud, even though his name appeared as the junior author to the paper in it’s ever morphing versions.

And while this author may have differences of opinions on some matters with Richard Wells (the man who co-described "Cannia weigeli"), we are at one in being of the view that the alteration of the Williams/Starkey paper is one of the most blatant cases of scientific fraud ever perpetrated (Wells pers. comm. dated 4 Feb 2001).

The Williams fraud coupled with the attacks against this author got even worse when it became clear that Williams was posting on the various internet forums under a series of different names. The IP address (as found by viewing each e-mail’s "document source") gave Williams and his antics away. During this period, Wüster even let it be known in another post that he hadn’t even seen any New Guinea Pailsus and knew nothing of them.

Thus the assertion that this author was somehow poaching a species name from Williams, Wüster and others was well and truly buried.

Most of the relevant posts, including the three versions of the Williams/Starkey "paper" can be found on one of this author’s websites.

Namely:

http://www.lexicon.net/adder/Slandl.htm,

http://www.smuggled.com/Slandl.htm

and mirrors.

And perhaps we should actually enlighten people as to what Wüster had to say after the whole Williams/Wüster fraud was exposed via the Kingsnake.com forums.

It was Neil Davie of Geelong (whom both Wüster and David Williams falsely claimed was this author posting under a bogus name) who finally got Wüster to retract the lie that this author had somehow stolen "naming rights" to Pailsus rossignollii.

Wüster’s post on January 28, 2001 at 03:59:11: read thus:

Oops!

David Williams had earlier claimed Hoser had stolen his research.

But that in itself would have been some mean feat.

You see this author sits based in Melbourne (Australi