Reptile & Amphibian Forums

the light sucks but he just shed ,and is looking good.He is a 2002 P.v.bimaris

Doug H.

Either yourself or others - why are bimaris so uncommon when the vertebralis seem much more popular? Are bimaris particulary nasty or something?

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it p.c. bimaris? (catenifer bimaris) If not, then what does the v stand for? Vertebralis? Can a subspecies have its own sub-subspecies?

I swear, it seems like the more I learn, the less I know!

Thanks for helping me out with this one!
Judy
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1.0 red cape gopher (Caesar)

Some researchers seperate the "baja" gophers from the others by placing them in the species P. vertebralis (with 2 subspecies(or pattern classes): bimaris and vertebralis). The seperation is founded upon research that suggests that P.c.annectins and P.vertebralis occopy the same range for several hundred miles in Northern Baja California without signs of intergrading. Other herpetologists say this isn't so, and the debate continues.
-cole

So...Let me see if I've got this right:

Because there doesn't appear to be any intergrading between P.c.annectins and P.c.vertebralis, they are thought to be two different species, rather than both subs of catenifer? And so...depending on who you're talking to, it is correct to say either P.v.bimaris/P.v.vertebralis OR P.c.bimaris/P.c.vertebralis.

Veerrrry interesting! Thanks for taking the time to answer that question. Until recently, I never realized taxonomy was such a fluid creature.

Judy
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1.0 red cape gopher (Caesar)

n

Some researchers seperate the "baja" gophers from the others by placing them in the species P. vertebralis (with 2 subspecies(or pattern classes): bimaris and vertebralis). The seperation is founded upon research that suggests that P.c.annectins and P.vertebralis occopy the same range for several hundred miles in Northern Baja California without signs of intergrading. Other herpetologists say this isn't so, and the debate continues.
-cole

Very nice. I like the dark saddles. Gives it a great contrast.