Genus Liasis Gray, 1842

Museums

Regional Maps

• Liasis Gray, J.E. 1842. Synopsis of the species of prehensile-tailed snakes, or family Boidae. pp. 41-46 in Gray, J.E. (ed.). The Zoological Miscellany. London : Treuttel, Würz & Co. [44] [nom. nud.].
• Liasis Gray, J.E. 1840. Synopsis of the contents of the British Museum. London : G. Woodfall and Son 42nd Edn., 1st impression (16 October 1840), [iv] + 370 pp. [42] [nom. nud.].
• Simalia Gray, J.E. 1849. Catalogue of the Specimens of Snakes in the Collection of the British Museum. London : Trustees of the British Museum xv 125 pp. [91] [see also synonymy of Morelia].

  Type species (included species):

   Liasis amethystinus ([sic] Schneider, 1801); Liasis macklotii ([sic] Duméril & Bibron, 1844)
• Lisalia Gray, J.E. 1849. Catalogue of the Specimens of Snakes in the Collection of the British Museum. London : Trustees of the British Museum xv 125 pp. [92] [described as subgenus of Liasis].

  Type species:

   Liasis olivacea Gray, 1849 by monotypy.
• Katrinus Hoser, R. 2000. A revision of the Australasian pythons. Ophidia Review 1: 7-27 [17] [feminine gender specified].

  Type species:

   Liasis fuscus Peters, 1873 by original designation.

Introduction

Considerable confusion existed regarding the type-species of Liasis. Gray (1842: 44) included childreni, amethistina, and olivacea in his description of Liasis but did not designate a type-species. Demarest In d'Orbigny, 1846, Diet. Univ. Hist. Nat. 7: 808 pp. [337], subsequently designated Boa amethistina Schneider, 1801 [= Morelia amethistina (Schneider, 1801)] as the type species.
McDowell, 1975, J. Herpetol. 9:1-79[31], apparently unaware of Demarest's designation, treated Liasis childreni [= Antaresia childreni] as the type-species, presumably based on Gray's subsequent assignment of Liasis childreni to the subgenus Liasis Gray (1849:91). McDowell also pointed out that Gray's (1842:44) concept of Liasis amethystinus was based on the same specimen that A.-M.-C. Dumeril and Bibron, 1844, Erp. Gen. 6: 609 pp. [440], later described as Liasis mackloti. Aware of these problems, Stimson and McDowell, 1986, Bull. Zool. Nomencl. 43:330-334, in accordance with Article 70(a) of the Rules of Zoological Nomenclature petitioned to have mackloti designated as the type species for Liasis. Their application resulted in Opinion 1514 (1988, Bull. ZooI. Nomencl. 45: 244) which ruled mackloti as the type-species of Liasis.

Systematic treatments of species of Liasis and for that matter most other Australian pythons over the past 25 years have added considerable nomenclatural confusion. Stimson, 1969, Das Tierreich 89: 1-49, recognized nine species of Liasis, including the three contained here, plus other species currently assigned to the genera Antaresia, Apodora, and Morelia.
McDowell (1975: 3 1- 3 3) recognized two species groups of Liasis: the olivaceus group containing olivaceus, mackloti (in which he included
fuscus), and papuanus [= Apodora papuana], and the boa group including boa [= Bothrochilus boa], albertisii [= Leiopython albertisii], and childreni [= Antaresia childreni]. Cogger, Cameron and Cogger (1983: 200-204) assigned the Australian species of Liasis and several other taxa to the genus Bothrochilus. Subsequently, Cogger, 1992, Amph. Rept. Australia. 5th ed., 775 pp.[606-·608], referred the three Australian species (plus albertisii [= Leiopython albertisii] and childreni, perthensis, and stimsoni [all species of Antaresia] to Liasis.

The current taxonomic treatment follows Kluge, 1993, Rec. Australian Mus. Suppl. 19: 1- 77, except that we prefer to recognize Liasis fuscus as distinct from Liasis
mackloti following Cogger (1992) and the arguments made by Barker and Barker, 1994, Pythons World 1: 171 pp.[30], and others summarized therein.

Distribution

States

Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia

IBRA and IMCRA regions

IBRA

NT, Qld, WA: Arnhem Coast (ARC), Arnhem Plateau (ARP), Central Arnhem (CA), Central Kimberley (CK), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Daly Basin (DAB), Darwin Coastal (DAC), Dampierland (DL), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Gulf Fall and Uplands (GFU), Gulf Coastal (GUC), Gulf Plains (GUP), Mount Isa Inlier (MII), Northern Kimberley (NK), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pine Creek (PCK), Pilbara (PIL), Tiwi Cobourg (TIW), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Wet Tropics (WT) ; WA: Gascoyne (GAS)

History of changes