Help with a Carpet Python

[pinefamily]

Southern Cross was sold to, and absorbed by, Reptile Mania.

 

[Yellowtail]

Southern Cross was sold to, and absorbed by, Reptile Mania.

Are Reptile Mania still operating the business? If they are they keep a very low profile compared to the old days of Southern Cross, they never did take over the web site.
Simon Stone still sells a few GTP's and Albino Darwins.

 

[pinefamily]

They used to have a website. Last time I looked, they still had a FB page.

 

[Yellowtail]

Here's my two bobs worth why I believe M variegata should have never been separated in the first place. The only thing that's different is the variation of colours and patterns that have developed throughout millennia as a survival technique to suit the individual environment they inhabit (I.E - camouflage and thermoregulation) and these colour & patterns can vary greatly even within a confined area. Even Cogger recognises that variegata and imbricata are subject to enormous variations in colour and pattern. It's the only thing that varies. Dental, scull and penal structures (which can be used to confirm a taxon within a group is unique and worthy of classification at species level) remain consistent. The taxonomy used to describe M cheyni, M. mcdowlli, M metacalfei M imbricata & M bredli is very poor and based on mid body scalation, subcaudals, supralabials and infralabials etc of the holotype used to elevate them to species level. The poor taxonomy is backed up by location which is insufficient to classify a taxa as a separate species.

Even those of the group from New Guinea aren't a lot different from those that inhabit Australia.

There are no real geographic barriers in Australia to isolate each of the currently recognised species and as such if one wants to recognise the term intergrade then it should be utilised across all areas where the these "species" overlap and not just the area of the east coast where the geography and vegetation of two different habitats meet.

AS for head shapes. Here's a couple of wild imbricata from Lancelin WA sharing a dogs water bowl. Also seem to look a a bit like the MD's that are being talked about in "THe Freshly Shed Thread".

View attachment 322170

And I’d further ask. If colour and patterning is considered unique enough to elevate a taxon to species level why is this not adopted right across the board of Australian herps? For example look at the mass variations of the colour and patterns of Common Brown Snakes (Pseudonaja textilis), variations of colours and patterns between the Southern Blotched and Alpine Blotched Blue Tongues (Tiliqua nigrolutea), huge variation amongst Spotted Black Snakes (Pseudechis guttatus) and has previously been mentioned the “Bells” phase of the Lace Monitor (Varanus varius).

George, in NSW we have Diamonds, Coastals and MD's occupying their slices of NSW with "intergrades" in between at least Diamonds and Coastals.
In WA Imbricata occupies approx the same area, South coast WA is approx the same latitude as the NSW/Vic border and Geraldton the same as Balina/Byron Bay, they are inland to Kalgoorlie and on the South Coast into SA which is equivalent to the MD's distribution. It's appearance varies from almost totally black in some Southern areas to tan/orange in the inland.
Why in NSW do we have 3 sub species yet WA just one?

 

[SpottedPythons]

But doesn't WA have other pythons species? Womas, BHPs, Carinatus... maybe there's too much competition, or not enough prey.