Perthensis ??

[ronhalling]

Here's a Question the Anteresia peoples out there might be able to answer for a friend of mine, Normally i would ask Peter Birch about anything Ant but he is in Mexico at the moment so i thought i would throw it in the ring here, A couple of weeks ago this friend bought an A perthensis from someone in Adelaide and had it shipped to Sydney but when it arrived it looked identical to her A stimsoni, she contacted the person in Adelaide and queried this and they said that at this particular age (yearling) they do look somewhat like a Stimsons, she'is not really satisfied with this response and asked me is there some way to definitively tell the difference between the 2, i have no idea so i thought someone here might. ................Ron

 

[thals]

Hi Ron,

With perthensis, apart from the overall smaller body size, they have a lower midbody scale count of around 31-35 scales whereas stimsoni have between 35-49.

Here's a diagram showing how to count the number of scales, hope this proves helpful.



Cheers,
Thals.

 

[MesseNoire]

I have seen people advertising pygmy banded pythons (A.stimsonsi) as A.perthensis before. It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if this was the case. Either people are just not aware there is a difference between the two or some are trying to pull a fast one.

 

[bredli]

I have found Perthensis have a shorter pointier snout, And the back of the head is more bulgy especially in adults than Stimsoni.

Also some pygmy pythons can look a lot like stimson's python especially SA and NSW stimsoni colour and pattern wise.

 

[solar 17]

l have several hatchies and one noticable diff. "IMO" is "the eyes generally the are a distinctive yellow colour, but they really are not much like a stimmie although there are two colour/pattern forms with the ones from the southern end of their range having a noticable pattern where as the more northern ranged ones tend to be more plain or less patterned/blotched. ~B~

 

[Planky]

Yes I'd like to know too as a mate orginised a pigmy for me,
Only to mention weeks later during a discussion that the pigmy I infact purchased is a banded pigmy... And Not a perthensis

my mates argument is that banded pigmys and perthensis are infact the same snake
where my argument is that they are a different species and a pigmy banded is just a pigmy forum of a stimsons and has nothing do to with a perthensis

if if someone could clarify that would be awesome also scale count on a hatchling pigmy is just not going to happen

thanks in advance

 

[bredli]

Yes I'd like to know too as a mate orginised a pigmy for me,
Only to mention weeks later during a discussion that the pigmy I infact purchased is a banded pigmy... And Not a perthensis

my mates argument is that banded pigmys and perthensis are infact the same snake
where my argument is that they are a different species and a pigmy banded is just a pigmy forum of a stimsons and has nothing do to with a perthensis

if if someone could clarify that would be awesome also scale count on a hatchling pigmy is just not going to happen

thanks in advance

Yes pygmy pythons are from WA pygmy banded pythons are from QLD with thousands of kilometres separating them. They are not the same !!

 

[Pythoninfinite]

The problem with the loose use of common names, especially when they're made up to assist sales to people who have no idea of what they're buying. We see the same with the recently coined name "northern rainforest diamond" - there is no taxonomic justification for calling these anything other than "intergrade" (that term in itself is one of convenience) but the well-known seller of these intergrades who coined the term wanted a point of difference (and no doubt a premium price) for his animals. So these confusing names work their way into common usage, and before you know it, we end up in situations like this.

It may not make much difference if you're dealing with people who haven't a clue about scientific nomenclature, but you should ALWAYS insist on the use of the correct scientific names in all your reptile transactions - it is the only way you have any legal redress if someone misrepresents what they're selling. That way, if you didn't get what you paid for, you have grounds for action. Notifying the wildlife dept in the seller's state that they're misrepresenting what they're selling, and thus probably have dodgey bookwork, would be enough in many cases for the seller to take the animal back.

Jamie

 

[butters]

Can you get a picture?