I recently published a brief this subject at www.rosyboa.com, since I own the site I will reprint below. I'm sorry but I must have missed church the day the preacher said: "...and God crossed a hypo with an anery, and it was good - thus it was so named a genetic ghost". LOL

Excerpt:

"The appearance of the first "hypomelanistic" San Felipe Rosy Boa was independently discovered in two separate collections during 1995. These two lighter phase San Felipe boas were distinct from their littermates by a marked pigment reduction. Fortunately, these two boas were a male and female respectively, and later bred to establish the founding stock of today's Ghost San Felipe Rosy Boa.

That's right, I said "ghost". Firstly, these little rosy boas are not your typical "hypo", but rather a true single mutation genetic "ghost". The gene knocks out a significant percentage of all three color pigments, making it a more true ghost than one manipulated through combining 2 different mutations. Eye color is black or purple-black, and in extreme examples the boas look more like "snow" boas. It also is clear to me the phenotypic expression is co-dominant, with almost 50% expression in heterozygotes. These we now refer to as "partial ghosts" or "50% ghosts". Thus far, the San Felipe Ghost Boa gene is the only example of such a "ghost" genetic mutation in rosy boa collections today.

This gene mutation, can, however, exhibit some deleterious effects. These rosy boas seem to be more fastidious than normal San Felipe boas and have a higher associated captive mortality rate. Even so, to the individual seeking a very unique rosy with a significant future in designer applications, the Ghost San Felipe Rosy Boas should be considered high on the collector list."

Yours truly,

Larry Risen
American Desert Boas

American Desert Boas

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