If, as Bryan Box says, that the faded-orange appearance is naturally-occurring and common from the Gap, then it reconfirms my suspicions that it's just one of the "normal" looks from that area.



An appearance that has evolved in a geographic location is usually a whole cocktail of genes interacting to create one basic, familiar outcome. If someone were to breed those faded animals to non-faded and still get some F1s with the faded pattern, it's more likely that it's due to polygenic inheritance (also known as additive gene action).



For whatever evolutionary reason, co-dominant mutation is not a mode of inheritance that we see a lot of with colubrids, though inbreeding boids has aided in the discovery of many co-dominant alleles for that group.



There are countless examples of polygenic inheritance in colubrids and other herps, however. Some commonly known ones are Okeetee Corns, Miami Phase Corns, Blue Chondros, Orange phase subocs, Grey phase subocs, Yellow subocs -- typically (but not always) just about any geographic variation is due to multiple genes interacting together. That is why there's no such thing as a "Het" for Okeetee or "Het" for Miami phase. You can get some Okeetee-looking Corns by breeding an Okeetee to a classic, generic-looking Cornsnake, perhaps not as striking as the Okeetee parent, but somewhere in between the two. That's why it's not as simple as co-dom. Another non-herp example of polygenic inheritance is skin color in humans.



As for snakes being genetically exceptional, I don't think that's the case. They're no different than any other organism in that respect...they're not breaking any common rules of genetics. If you compare them to other herps, it's only because few herps are as readily bred and inbred in captivity as are snakes that we can mistakenly assume that their genetics defies textbook theory. Very few lizard species are as readily bred (and inbred) and survive as long as the many snakes now commonly bred, but the two that come to mind as having been inbred most (Beardies and Leopard Geckos) have had numerous mutations pop up.



The generation time for breeding turtles and crocodilians is far too long for most people to experiment with their genetics.



As is expected, we've seen many more extremes in genetics phenomena for the species that have been most studied: humans, mice, and fruit flies. There are, for example, no known lethal alleles for snakes, but there are several known for those three species.



Dusty
Suboc.com

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