Recently, I've been made aware of the genetic effects of growth hormones in hybrid big cats. The example is the "liger," a captive produced cross between a lion and a tiger. While the offspring are sterile, they also have the the gene(s) that regulate growth hormone rendered inactive. The result is that the offspring are huge, almost twice the size of the parent species.
My questions to anyone who can provide a scientific explanation are this: Regarding reptiles and amphibians, have there ever been any occurrences when crossing two different species, the resulting offspring have showed significantly larger adult size than the parents of both species? Has it ever been determined that the cause of this growth is due to lack of hormonal regulation by certain genes? Can the results of these experiements be posted on this forum?
Thanks.
Neil
