I finally produced a Motley!!! Yahoo! I know it is no big deal as the Mot has been around for quite some time, but this morph did not do well for me in the past. I spent top dollar for a pair in 2003, which never reached full adult size and ended up getting sick (they apparently were weak animals). I did not get another Motley (or Hotley in this case) until I did a trade for the sire of this litter in 2006. He is astounding! He is one of the most beautiful Hypo Motleys I have ever seen and has turned out to be a great breeder, to boot. (He also bred a Sharp.)



Now I know the genetics behind the Hypo Motley has been a discussion topic on this forum (though somehow I missed it), but I wanted to hopefully enlighten the topic. I bred a Hotley (Harlequin Orange Tail Motley) to a Sharp Sunglow and got Hotleys, Motleys, Hypos, and no normals (and a Sharp for some reason). (I was very excited to have one of my own female Sharp Sunglows breed for me, by the way.) I was told Jeremy Stone had said in all his Hypo Motley x normal litters, he either got Hypos or Motleys, but no Hypo Motleys. Even when breeding a Hypo Mot to a Hypo Mot, you can never get a Super Hypo Mot or Super Hypo Super Mot. So what is the explanation? Well, lets consider the following:



1) If the genes were on different chromosomes, then you would get Hypo Motleys in a Hypo Motley x normal breeding by simple independent assortment and segregation.



2) If the genes were linked (on the same chromosome), then all the Motleys would be Hypo Motleys in a similar breeding (excluding the possibility of crossover).



3) If the genes were for some reason at the same gene locus (e.g. multiple alleles), then the you can only get Motleys and Hypos- approximately 50% each. And, this is what we are observing.



These genes are acting as if they are located at the same locus, but produce such different phenotypes. This is kind of what happens with the Paradigms where both genes (BW Caramel and Sharp) work in concert with each other to produce an intermediate T Positive phenotype in a codominant manner. Anyways, what do you guys think? Where is our resident geneticist Paul Hollander? I have not put much thought into these breeding outcomes, but it appears it's the only immediate, tangible explanation.



Either way, I am very excited to produce these fine morphs!



-----
Ron Michelotti



Class Reptilia

www.classreptilia.com

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