Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Why is the familiar "H" pattern missing in blonde, silver, etc. transpecos rats? It was probably explained somewhere, but I can't find info on why.

Thanks,

Mike

Conceptually, if you think of an H as two dorsal spots like back to back parenthesis with their bellies touching, you get )(.
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A mutant shift in the parenthesis with their tips touching, you get ()
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Regards, Bill McGighan

Doesn't explain why the "shift" occurs only in blondes, silvers, especially when breeding hets. Why don't you ever see the shift in normals? Is the shift "programmed" to identify only in a specific color?

So much for parenthesis, open or closed, in paragraphs.

Mike

Maybe I misunderstood the question, Mike, and maybe still misunderstand.
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You said:
"Doesn't explain why the "shift" occurs only in blondes, silvers, especially when breeding hets."
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The "Blond" phase connotatively implies the oval blotches instead of the H blotches. This is why there are "mustard Blonds" and "Silver Blonds".
The oval patterns are a recessive mutation.
It seems to be a mutation that doesn't seem to hinder the survivability in nature.
There are H normals of the same blond color in nature, but when we find one, we don't generally call it a "blond" (though sometimes refered to as "H blonds".)
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Most of the original "oval patterned" individuals found in the field were from an area where blondish is a fairly common color, thus named "blonds".
As to why the mutation occurs successfully in nature (or why any mutation occurs), herpetologists can only speculate.
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"Why don't you ever see the shift in normals?"
Again, the ovals or diamond patterned animals are the "blonds".
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Regards, Bill McGighan