Thanks for your input guys. Very interesting topic. I remember from way back when that the operational definition that an instructor of mine used for a species was something like, "a group of reproductively isolated organisms that, when bred together, will yield viable offspring". I would agree that it would seem that a separate subspecies designation would probably be in order, but I'd also agree that the whole genus-species-subspecies concept is our attempt to slot nature into neat little boxes where it does't necessarily fit very nicely.


>>OK, maybe I'm just woefully uninformed on this one, so I'm going to throw this question out for anyone who can enlighten me. I was at the Reptile Super Show in Pamona California today, and I had a great discussion with a gentlemen there regarding whether or not Rufescens Kenyan Sand Boas were really Eryx colubrinus loveridgei or not. Now I know that once you start trying to classify species and subspecies into neat little categories for convenience sake, mother nature doesn't always like to be pigeon-holed that way and you find exceptions to many rules. I also know that this is even further complicated when you start trying to produce morphs that mother nature never thought of. That said, I've always assumed that rufescens sand boas were yet another morph of Eryx colubrinus loveridgei. However, the gentleman at the show conveyed to me his thoughts on the subject. He was rather sure that rufescens individuals had come from lines other than Eryx colubrinus loveridgei, noting that the breeding cycle timing was distinctly different, the size of the males hemipenes are different, etc. I don't know enough about the subject to draw from my own experience on this, so I'd like to ask what thoughts the rest of you may have on this. Are rufecens sand boas a distinctly different subspecies (or species) or are they merely a variety (or "strain" if you will) of Eryx colubrinus loveridgei? Did they originally come from a different subspecies or species?

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