This is a case of researching the research.



You mention recent work. You really should look at what animals they are comparing.



If you take an eastern, say Constock or east, splendida, and compare it to a MBK from Ortiz, from near the gulf. The genetics indeed would be closer to eastern cal kings.



The problem is, in Ortiz and most other locals where MBK's are found, there is also typical splendida, how does the genetics relate to those found in the same area, or those from the same clutch.



In the early days it was common to hatch both types from one clutch, much like alterna phase and blari phase from a wild caught female.



I hope you understand that. A wild gravid alterna from the river road, will throw all alterna, but one off juno rd, can throw both and more.



Most locals of MBK's are splendida when hatched and others are black when hatched, some clutches contain both.



In So. az. where I live, we have MBK's, in a few locals along the border(if they are not all cooked by now) and we have dark melinistic yuma kings and splendida types in the raparian areas around tucson.



These different types of black kings are different. So whom is more related to whom.



It appears to me, the problem is, those lab guys want to spend time in the lab. And not in the field actually looking whats there, then testing that to make some real sense.



What they do is test stuff to say, what they want to say. They just play witht the pieces. Yes, they are playing within the rules. They make up the rules, So they can do that.



But does that really help. I want to know what the splendida that are found in the same area, the same clutch as MBK's related to, eastern splendida or cal kings. Hmmmmmmmm Cal kings are less then a hundred miles away. And central texas splendida are five or more hundred miles away. WHAT DID THEY TEST??????????? That is the question. The next best question is, why did they do what they did.



I would think an east texas splendida is closer to a speckled king then a central Az splendida is. Wanta bet?

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