which carpet python grows the fastest

[$NaKe PiMp]

The diamond snake as it was known was first described as Coluber spilotus by Lacepede in 1804 later re classified into the Morelia genus by gray i am lead to believe with out looking up the exact details.
Interesting trivia the Red bellied black snake was the first species described of any Australian snake in the first book on Australian animals "Zoology of New holland" in 1794

 

[AMY22]

The diamond snake as it was known was first described as Coluber spilotus by Lacepede in 1804 later re classified into the Morelia genus by gray i am lead to believe with out looking up the exact details.

You may actually be correct in that, and I think the date that it was reclassified was 1842.

 

[$NaKe PiMp]

yes by Gray in 1842,even if you google it there is info on this taxonomy

 

[cris]

As far as i know there are 6 or less 'carpet pythons'
western carpet python, Bredl's carpet python, eastern carpet python, IJ carpet?, gtp, rsp.

No idea if that stands up to modern science(as i only try to keep up with, not care about arbitary naming) but would be interested to know otherwise.

 

[ShnakeyGirl]

As far as i know there are 6 or less 'carpet pythons'
western carpet python, Bredl's carpet python, eastern carpet python, IJ carpet?, gtp, rsp.

No idea if that stands up to modern science(as i only try to keep up with, not care about arbitary naming) but would be interested to know otherwise.

Cris, I think you just missed the entire point on what the other posters have said.

GTPs, RSPs, Scrubs and Oenpelli's are not Carpet Pythons, while they belong to genus Spilota, they are not included in the Spilota species

Eg: Green Tree Python - Morelia Viridis
Coastal Carpet Python- Morelia Spilota Mcdowelli

All Carpet pythons have the Spilota in their scientific name, those that don't generally are not
considered carpet pythons. Although this cant get a little confusing with Bredli as some consider them part of the Morelia family and some don't

 

[dtulip10]

whats the diffenition of a carpet???
–noun
1. a heavy fabric, commonly of wool or nylon, for covering floors.
2. a covering of this material.
3. any relatively soft surface or covering like a carpet: They walked on the carpet of grass.
4. any of a number of airborne electronic devices for jamming radar.
5. a system of such devices.
–verb (used with object)
6. to cover or furnish with or as with a carpet.
7. Chiefly British. to reprimand.
—Idiom
8. on the carpet,
a. before an authority or superior for an accounting of one's actions or a reprimand: He was called on the carpet again for his carelessness.
b. Chiefly British. under consideration or discussion.
Origin:
1300–50; ME carpete cloth covering for a table, floor, bed, etc. < MF carpite or ML carpīta < It carpita woolen bedspread < VL *carpīta, ptp. of carpīre, for L carpere to pluck, card (wool)

Related forms:
car⋅pet⋅less, adjective
car⋅pet⋅like, adjective


straight from the dictionary.

 

[dtulip10]

Cris, I think you just missed the entire point on what the other posters have said.

GTPs, RSPs, Scrubs and Oenpelli's are not Carpet Pythons, while they belong to genus Morelia, they are not included in the Morelia species

Eg: Green Tree Python - Morelia Viridis
Coastal Carpet Python- Morelia Spilota Mcdowelli

All Carpet pythons have the Spilota in their scientific name, those that don't generally are not
considered carpet pythons. Although this cant get a little confusing with Bredli as some consider them part of the Morelia family and some don't

ya close

morelia is the genus

spilota is the species

anything after that is a subspecies.

and with m. bredli (latest classification due to smaller scale size and higher count than morelia spilota ) it is still know in common terms as a inland carpet python but does not fall under the morelia spilota speices.

so this is why colloquial terms don't mean much.

 

[-Matt-]

ya close

morelia is the genus

spilota is the species

anything after that is a subspecies.

and with m. bredli (latest classification due to smaller scale size and higher count than morelia spilota ) it is still know in common terms as a inland carpet python but does not fall under the morelia spilota speices.

so this is why colloquial terms don't mean much.

Isnt M. metcalfei the inland carpet python and M. bredli the centralian carpet python?

 

[ShnakeyGirl]

ya close

morelia is the genus

spilota is the species

anything after that is a subspecies.

and with m. bredli (latest classification due to smaller scale size and higher count than morelia spilota ) it is still know in common terms as a inland carpet python but does not fall under the morelia spilota speices.

so this is why colloquial terms don't mean much.

If you actually read the post again, you would have seen it was a typo.

According to Wilson and Swan, Bredli are part of the Carpet Python group, same goes for Swanson.

I have been led to believe there are factions of herptologists that consider Bredli as part of the Carpet family and some that do not. This would also highlight that many herptologists believe that there are no sub-species within morelia spilota, that their differences are just testament to the different enviroments they are found in.

Also Inland Carpets are not Bredli, Bredli are known as Centralian Carpet Pythons

 

[Contagion]

Isnt M. metcalfei the inland carpet python and M. bredli the centralian carpet python?

Yep.

Also, IJ carpets (Irian Jaya carpets) have been classed now as their own species. They're now Morelia harrisoni.

 

[dtulip10]

If you actually read the post again, you would have seen it was a typo.

According to Wilson and Swan, Bredli are part of the Carpet Python group, same goes for Swanson.

I have been led to believe there are factions of herptologists that consider Bredli as part of the Carpet family and some that do not. This would also highlight that many herptologists believe that there are no sub-species within morelia spilota, that their differences are just testament to the different enviroments they are found in.

Also Inland Carpets are not Bredli, Bredli are known as Centralian Carpet Pythons

yeah i have come across a few journal articles that are trying to have morelia spilota complex recategorized and broken back to the one singular species.

 

[-Matt-]

Yep.

Also, IJ carpets (Irian Jaya carpets) have been classed now as their own species. They're now Morelia harrisoni.

It was more a statement than a question lol.

As far as Im concerned M.mcdowelli, M.metcalfei, M.cheynei, M.bredli, M.imbricata, M.variegata are the only pythons that I would call 'carpet pythons'.

 

[Serpentes]

yeah i have come across a few journal articles that are trying to have morelia spilota complex recategorized and broken back to the one singular species.

Which articles are those, can you post up refs?

Any snake belonging to the Morelia spilota species complex is a "carpet python" excepting M.s. spilota, referred to as a "diamond python". The present taxonomic categorisation of the Morelia spilota group includes the PNG subspecies "M.s. harrisoni", along with the Australian subspecies

All of the Morelia spilota subspecies are distinctly different from ALL the other Morelia species, except M. bredli, about which there is some contention.

Anyway the whole genus is contentious from time to time, and at present it's a big lumped group after swallowing Chondropython and containing M. carinata.

 

[Serpentes]

Here, from the most recent work done on Morelia relationships:

"So, in conclusion, our data are minimally consistent with monophyly of Morelia. We find three lineages within Morelia: M. boeleni, the M. carinata + M. viridis clade, and an M. amethistina + M. bredli + M. oenpelliensis + M. spilota clade, which concurs with Kluge only in the sister relationship between M. carinata and M. viridis and the somewhat remote position of M. boeleni."

Rawlings et al (2008). Python phylogenetics: inference from morphology and mitochondrial DNABiological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2008, 93, 603–619.

This means 1. nothing about carpet pythons as a group, other than they are part of a big mob of Morelia pythons, but very different to M. bredli, M. amethystina and M. oenpelliensis, the only other Morelia species. 2. M. viridis (South), M. viridis (North) and M. carinata are in a different genus altogether (Chondropython) and that M. boeleni is it's own thing.


Anyway, back to the point, the fastest growing carpet python, do you mean by mass, length or rate according to maximal size? Basically the bigger carpet pythons grow fastest, such as M. mcdowelli and M. spilota, and of course their intergrade zone representatives! Although the fastest grow should occur in M. s. variegata, as it has a higher metabolism, but it will slow down in growth sooner than the other big species due to its tropical biometrics.