KIMBERLEY RANGES BLACK-HEADED PYTHON
ASPIDITES MELANOCEPHALUS ADELYNENSIS
SUBSP. NOV.
HOLOTYPE: A specimen at the Western Australian Museum, number 51208
from Wyndham, WA Lat: 15° 28' Long:128° 06'
PARATYPE: A specimen at the Western Australian Museum, number 17115
from 8 km south of Wyndham, WA. Lat: 15° 28' Long:128° 07'
DIAGNOSIS: Known only from Kimberley region of WA, this population of
Black-headed Pythons appears to be isolated from the population to the
south in the Pilbara. It is uncertain as to how much gene flow occurs between
this population and that to the east in the adjacent parts of WA and the
NT. Aspidites melanocephalus adelynensis like A. m. davieii (see
below) is separated from other Black-headed Pythons by usually having one
loreal, no suboculars and a single pair of large parietals, while most
NT and Queensland Black-headed Pythons have 2-4 loreals, 1-2 suboculars
and 2-4 pairs of parietals. A. m. adelynensis is separated from
A. m. davieii by distribution, being separated by part of the western
flank of the Great Sandy Desert where it meets the WA coast. There are
no unusually light specimens of A. m. adelynensis known (as occurs
in A. m. davieii). Analysis of the mitochondrial DNA of A. m.
adelynensis will further ascertain the differences between this and
the other Black-headed Pythons, in particular, how much genetic interaction
has occurred between this population and those to the east.
ETYMOLOGY: Named after Adelyn Hoser, the author's daughter.
The above was from the paper - A revision of the Australiasian Pythons.
(Originally published in Ophidia Review 1(1) in "Autumn" 2000 - (Publication date: October 2000), pp. 7-27).
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