Jaykis wrote:

>>I was going to ask this on the python forum, but it seems more applicable here. My question concerns Apadora and Morelia boeleni. To my view, (and with no taxonomy experience to back it up, lol) I think they are both the same "type", and that Boelen's should be removed from Morelia and placed with Apadora.

>> So...am I out of line here...or just taking certain observations and running the wrong way with them....or possibly correct? All responses will be welcome. ...



So I'll make my response as invited, although my name's not Richard:



I've had a go at working out why there's so much character conflict in Kluge's (1993) morphological data set, particularly involving Liasis (in the broad sense). As a breeder you're no doubt aware of various reported cases of healthy hybrids of python species belonging to separate species groups or genera. I'm not sure whether any of these progeny have turned out to be fertile, but it does raise the question whether any species or group of living pythons arose by hybridization of previously separated lineages.



Well, it would certainly be difficult to prove (or disprove)from morphological evidence alone, but after playing around with the morph data and drawing a lot of reticulating diagrams (relaxing just one of the usual cladistic assumptions), I still think it likely there was at least one hybrid origin of a species, and may have been others further back.



The one I think most likely is an introgression between olivacea-like and amethistina-like ancestors to produce papuana. That is to say, 'Apodora' papuana (with a *o*) is a Liasis-Morelia hybrid that originated after both Liasis and Morelia had diversified. Maybe boeleni is more closely related to papuana than to anything else, but papuana is equally closely related to olivacea.



This is unknown but testable. If I'm right, separate gene-trees will support different cladograms, and with enough nuclear DNA we'll get the full story.
-----
John D. Scanlon

Riversleigh Fossil Centre

Outback at Isa

Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia

riversleigh@outbackatisa.com.au

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