Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I keep seeing things in the classified section that I dont understand. Could someone give me the definition of these words?

hypo-
het-
morph-
cross-
aberrant-

Thanks!!

>>hypo-

This term is actually a prefix which means less than or below (like a hypodermic needle is used to get below the skin). With snakes, it is usually associated with the word hypomelanistic, which means having less black pigment (melanin) than normal.

>>het-

Het is short for heterozygous, which means that an individual has two different alleles at a locus. Read a little about Mendelian genetics in biology textbook to learn what this really means (and watch out for some websites that have overly simplistic definitions of these terms).
In non-genetics herp hobby terms, it means that the animal carries a particular recessive trait (e.g. albinism) but doesn't express it.

>>morph-

Morph is a derivative of the word morphology, which relates to an animals shape or appearance. You can say that Cal Kings come in two morphs, striped and banded.

>>cross-

A cross implies a mating or the result of a mating of two different blood lines.
It can be used to signify a mating of two different species (Cal King x Cornsnake) which is technically called a hybrid. It can also be used to talk about matings between two subspecies (Speckled x Desert King crosses) which are technically intergrades. It can also be used to imply a cross between two "morphs".

>>aberrant-

This term just means unusual or different than average. It can be used to describe a snake whose pattern is a little unusual. Sometimes it is used to describe a pattern that is intermediate between two extremes, but not all that unusual.
For example, the phrase Aberrant Cal King is used to describe a Cal King that is partially striped and partially banded or just a mixed up pattern. These snakes aren't rare, they are just different from either the banded or striped extremes.

You should be aware that these terms are sometimes used as rather deceptive marketing ploys by unscrupulous sellers. The perception is that a snake that is somehow different might have the ability to produce offspring that carry the same unusual characterstics and are therefore worth more money. If this trait is proven, and it is desirable, that might be true. Most of the time it isn't.

If you don't believe me, read the Ball Python classifieds. It has gotten so ridiculous that any Ball Python can be described as a morph because people seem to have forgotten how variable Ball Pythons really are. Those of us who have been in this hobby 20 plus years remember the days when many of those Ball Python "morphs" were just sold along with every other Ball Python for the same $20.
I am not saying there aren't some really nice genetic anomalies that occur in Ball Pythons (albinos are beautiful, for example, and the spider morphs are cool looking). But most of the "possible new morph" or "check out this aberrant pattern" ads in the Ball Python forum are just people fishing for suckers.
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Chris Harrison