I get my Woma python in the next days and would like to debate a bit about the cladisitic of their genus Aspidites.
Only two species are in this genus: the Woma and the blackheaded python. Both are living only in australia and have many unique characteristics. They lack heatpits and their entire body looks different to any other python species. Infact genetic analysis shows that they are not really related to the python genera, they are just put there because they donīt fit anywhere else.
So what are they? It is very possible that they belong to an ancient genus called Madtsoniidae. Some of the most famous snake fossils like Sanajeh belong to this genus. It was once spread over the entire globe. Fossils are known from the middle creatacious. They went extinct in most parts of the world roughly 50 million years ago but did hold out in Australia. The last known extinct of this genus was the Wonambi species, which the Aboriginies still know.
No further studies were done regarding this but it is very possible that the Woma and Blackheaded python both belong to the Madtsoniidae. That would mean they are not just not pythons but not even in the super order Boidae at all.
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