Hi Raymond,

I've not seen any Pseudechis pailsi alive yet (as I explained in another email as well as posts here, I like genera to be monophyletic and morphologically cohesive; Pseudechis sensu lato may be an old lineage but it's certainly diagnosable, and not unwieldy by any means). Having examined and photographed a fresh specimen in 1987 (the 'lost' one you mention) I have not doubted it was distinct from P. australis, but will be doing what I can to discover relevant evidence.

I see you're now also omitting the 'e' in 'pailsei', that was one of those Baroque touches that just had to go (on the model of Acanthophis wellsei Hoser -> wellsi in Aplin and Donnellan 1999). Cheers!
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John D. Scanlon
Riversleigh Fossil Centre
Outback at Isa
Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia