Three years later, Arnold Kluge (1993) examined 121 anatomical and morphological characters in his phylogenetic study. The White-lipped python therefore became Morelia albertisii. Based on their examination, the authors synonymized Liasis and Bothrochilus with Morelia. However, their work was heavily criticized by other scientist and not widely followed.įew years later, Underwood and Stimson (1990) examined the relationship of the pythonid snakes by their anatomy and morphology.
They placed the White-lipped python into the genus Lisalia Gray, 1849. Richard Wells and Ross Wellington had a different approach in their list of the Australian fauna. (1983) synonymized the genus Liasis with Morelia Gray, 1842 and all species included within Liasis were placed into the genus Bothrochilus Fitzinger, 1843. (1983) assumed that Boa amethistina Schneider, 1801 (which actually was Liasis mackloti) was the type. Gray had not designated a type specimen for this genus and McDowell considered the species Liasis childreni to be the type whereas Cogger et al. McDowell also discussed the taxonomic problems with the genus Liasis. These differences were also found in specimens available to herpetoculture. McDowell noticed that there are two different races of White-lipped pythons, a northern- and a southern one with the latter being much larger and different in color from the former. The other group was the “ Liasis olivaceus”-Group which contained Liasis mackloti, Liasis fuscus, and Liasis papuanus. In a comparative study of the anatomy and morphology of the boid snakes of New Guinea and Indonesia, McDowell (1975) placed the White-lipped python into his so-called “ Liasis boa”-Group which contained besides Liasis boa Fitzinger, 1843 the species Liasis albertisii and Liasis childreni. It was in 1960, when Eric Worrel examined the morphology of the skull of both subspecies finding differences that let him raise the subspecies back to specific rank. Although the author had given no explanation for this action (it should have been published later, but actually never was), this placement was widely accepted by subsequent workers. Later Olive Griffith Stull (1905-xxxx) conducted a checklist of the boid snakes placing the White-lipped python as subspecies of the Brown water python ( Liasis fuscus Peters, 1873). Boulenger (1858-1937) found Hubrecht’s Leiopython gracilis to belong to the same species as the one described by Peters and Doria (1878), Liasis albertisii and synonymized it with the latter. Content 3 of 7 Taxonomic history Taxonomic changes
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