Here we go:



To begin with, I believe, based on what I've seen and the ratios of hatchlings produced, that we are dealing with two, and possibly three different traits under the name "hypomelanism". These, in my understanding, are "traditional hypomelanism", "extreme", and "mega".



"Traditional" hypomelanism is a simple recessive trait. These animals, I believe, can be distinguished from the other traits (when it is the ONLY trait present) by the normally pigmented eyes. That said, I am also convinced that, like with any trait, there is a certain amount of polymorphism in the "quality" and deposition of pigment within this trait. There will be some "low end" traditional hypos that are barely distinguishable from wild-type animals, and there will be "high end" examples that rival some "extreme" and "mega" animals.



With the "extreme" and "mega" line animals, I think we're seeing something different. Many animals that we call "hypomelanistic", probably display (or at least carry) one of these other forms of melanin reduction. This could simply be due to the practice of breeding all "hypos" as one entity, or due to some form of gene linkage. From what I've seen, both of these lines (extreme and mega) display a red coloration to the eyes, signaling more of a pigment production problem, which alludes to a form of amelanism.



OK, so to keep this short, I'd like to end on the notion that the task at hand is to separate these potentially different genetic traits from one another, and test breed them to confirm or deny them actually being distinct. That will require groups of "mega" animals that don't carry "traditional hypo" or "extreme" genes, "traditional hypo" animals that don't carry "mega" or "extreme" genes, and "extreme" animals that don't carry "mega" or "traditional hypo" genes.



Thoughts?



-Cole

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