Thanks for the information about the ICZN not having accepted the

subspecies yet. I made a mistake by putting species instead of

"subspecies" when I posted that email. Oops!

I was aware of the three (unaccepted) subspecies of longipes and

of serratus that you listed.



You asked..."How well did they survive?" All 5 batches of eggs

(25 in all) hatched and at the end of two months all were still

alive and doing well. I would assume that none of these came from

retained sperm, since all the adults were in captivity for over

two years before they reproduced. I have raised a few other

laemanctus hatchlings into adulthood in the last few years.

I have more clutches of eggs in the incubator now.



I have two different looking "kinds" of laemanctus (don't know

how to put it now that you are saying that the subspecies

aren't accepted) and I had a third "kind" (different looking than

the other two) once too.



You said..."I suspect that those in favor of the many subspecies

are basing their results on morphological data, but hopefully,

phylogenetic advances will show whether they are, in fact, full

subspecies, or just locales or "morphs"...what will it take to

prove that they are full subspecies? Do you know what the

differences are reported to be so far?



There are definite differences in the two "kinds" that I have.

The babies of one "kind" have the dark stripe (lighter/darker

bands)down the spine while the babies of the other have that

same stripe but also have a solid dark stripe along the

sides...and the parents/adults keep this solid side stripe

but it pales as they mature. The spinal stripe remains dark.

There are very different arrangements and sizes of scales on

the tops of the heads of both "kinds"...and there are more

differences too.

[ Show Entire Thread ]