Dear Sean, from what I gather and based on my breeders, it is a variant. In clutches from my red throat sire and dam, I get mostly red throat hatchlings but also a few black phases. I don't know if black to black can produce red throats or not...maybe someone can say, I am guessing Yes... I am told red and dark phases occur within populations in the wild, but some areas tend to have more or one phase than the other. I am told red throats are most prevalent in South Florida, but are found in other parts of the state as well. Vic