Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi! So we've got the redtail and the redback, but what's the one in the middle called? (Besides cute and gorgeous). Do any of the "morphs" ever occur together in the wild?

The one in the middle is our big breeder male "Granite" chuck.
Some people call them "white backs". The chunk of white granite that he was photographed on, is from the same mountains as he is. You can see how this color phase blends in to the rocks in its habitat. There is a really good example of this on Will Wells' website; Desert Reptiles and Landscapes.
As for different color phases occuring in the same locale, I have seen some locales where you see a blending of traits between two types. I have found red backs and yellow tails in different parts of the same mountain range in Arizona. I have also seen some places in the California mojave desert, where some males get red backs, and others do not develop more than a few red speckles. The amount of blending of traits usually depends on relative isolation of the population. Isolated populations may become very different from a population in an adjacent mountain range, like the carrot tails.

Thanks, Nick! N/P