Pilbara Death Adder

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" height=112 style=" border-bottom: 1px solid #CCCCCC;" BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <B>Pilbara Pythons</B></div> <div> <A HREF="home.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Home">Home</A><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="about.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="About Us">About Us</A><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="safaris.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Reptile Safaris">Reptile Safaris</A><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="pythons.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Pythons">Pythons</A><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="elapids.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Elapids">Elapids</A><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="monitors.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Monitors">Monitors</A><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="dragons.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dragons">Dragons</A><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="geckos.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Geckos">Geckos</A><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="skinks.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Skinks">Skinks</A><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="amphibians.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Amphibians">Amphibians</A><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="turtles.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Turtles">Turtles</A><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="forum.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Forum">Forum</A><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="caresheets.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Care Sheets">Care Sheets</A><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="herphelp.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Herp Help">Herp Help</A><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="kidscorner.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Kids Corner">Kid's Corner</A><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="stock.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Available Stock">Available Stock</A><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="gallery.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Photo Gallery">Photo Gallery</A><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="links.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links">Links</A><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="licence.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Reptile Licence Application">Reptile Licence Application</A><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="contact.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us">Contact Us</A><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="stevesprints.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Steves Quality Prints">Steve's Quality Prints</A><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="shipping.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Shipping Details">Shipping Details</A></div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=368 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="229" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="71"><div> <A HREF="desertdeathadder.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Desert Death Adder">BACK</A></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="71"><div> <A HREF="elapids.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Elapids">ELAPIDS</A></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="71"><div> <A HREF="tigersnake.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Tiger Snake">NEXT</A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="703" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="693"><div> <B>Pilbara Death Adder - </B><B>Acanthopis wellsi</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 225 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="ae45adb0.jpg" border=0 width="346" height="219" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="346"><div> <B><U>Pilbara death adder</U></B><B> </B><I>Acanthophis wellsi</I></div> <bR> <div> The Pilbara death adder is a small slender adder very similar in build to the desert death adder <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#3366FF" FACE="Verdana" ><I>Acanthophis pyrrhus</I></FONT>. <I>A wellsi</I> can be differentiated by having 19 mid body scales and has undivided prefrontal scales as apposed to <I>A pyrrhus</I> which has 21. </div> <bR> <div> There is however an isolated population of <I>A wellsi</I> at Cape range peninsula near <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#3366FF" FACE="Verdana" >Exmouth</FONT> that do have divided prefrontals. The body scales on <I>A wellsi</I> are not as keeled as <I>A pyrrhus</I>. </div> <bR> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 146 WIDTH="693"><div> When viewed laterally there is a difference in head shape with <I>A wellsi</I> being of a more even roundness towards the nasal area or front of the head where as <I>A pyrrhus</I> is more arrow shaped. This head shape difference is quite obvious after comparing a few.</div> <bR> <div> There have been individuals found on the edge of their known range that have had strange scale counts or peculiarities. It is though, and likely in my view that these are actually hybrids of both pyrrhus and wellsi. </div> <bR> <div> Coloration varies, but typically they are a reddish body colour with about 40 faint bands of ether light red, yellow brown, and occasionally in rare melanistic individuals black.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 298 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="ae659240.jpg" border=0 width="345" height="292" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="346"><div> The melanistic forms usually show this pigmentation on their upper head scales and can look quite stunning. </div> <bR> <div> There are many specimens that display colour and patterning almost identical to <I>pyrrhus</I> and I believe over the years a lot of reptile keepers without examining these a little closer have automatically assumed that that what they had seen or captured were <I>pyrrhus.</I></div> <bR> <div> The distribution of this species to some degree, remains uncertain and although generally confined to the Pilbara and a little further south I believe that in many cases amateur reptile enthusiasts have not correctly identified this adder in some areas.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 357 WIDTH="693"><bR> <div> <B><U>Habitat</U></B></div> <div> The wellsi habitat is typically areas of stony based desert areas surrounded by rocky escarpment scattered throughout with spinifex from which they shelter.</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Diet</U></B></div> <div> Their diet consists of small lizards, frogs, and a particular favourite food item is the fat tailed gecko <I>Diplodactylus conspicillatus</I>.  </div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Breeding</U></B></div> <div> This species has only rarely been bred in captivity. This is simply because at this point of time there are very few specimens in collections and not because they are more difficult to breed than any other adder. Mating in the wild occurs in the wild from about late December to the end of January. As with all adders they bear live young and this occurs in April to May. There has been breeding experiments undertaken with both colour forms e.g. red and the black headed, black banded form to determine whether or not each form produces both colours. Early results have shown that reds will only mate with reds and black headed forms will only mate with black headed forms. I am personally not convinced of this, and believe there are far too few experiment subjects to draw these conclusions. As far as average litter numbers go, I have not seen enough to know, although I suspect that they may have a similar litter size or perhaps slightly less than <I>A pyrrhus</I>.</div> <div> This is a death adder not commonly kept out side of W.A and I suspect that it will be a few more years yet before these adders are bred in sufficient numbers to become commonly available.</div> <bR> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div>    <STYLE type="text/css">  </STYLE>   </div> </td> </tr></table></body>