Genetics of Striping in the Gopher Snake, Pituophis melanoleucus
1983; The Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles; Volume: 17; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês
10.2307/1563589
ISSN1937-2418
AutoresElizabeth Bechtel, Terrence Whitecar,
Tópico(s)Animal Behavior and Reproduction
ResumoThe normal pattern of the Pacific gopher snake is a longitudinal series of dorsal blotch- es, but in some areas of California an occasional specimen is found to have a pattern of longitudinal stripes rather than the ubiquitous blotched pattern. The striped variants differ additionally by having an unmarked venter with none of the small black squares that are found on many of the ventral plates of the blotched specimens. Controlled captive breedings involving blotched and striped specimens demonstrate that the widespread blotched pattern is recessive to the striped variant. Pituophis melanoleucus, with 15 recog- nized subspecies (Behler and King, 1979), has an extensive range in North America. One or more subspecies of this wide-ranging species are found in all of the 48 contiguous United States except the northeastern tier (Wright and Wright, 1957). Of the 10 recognized subspecies indigenous to the United States, all are blotched (Fig. 1) with the exception of the black pine snake (Pi- tuophis melanoleucus lodingi), which is solid black or dark brown when adult (Conant, 1958). The patterned subspe- cies show great variation in the num- ber, size, and shape of the dorsal blotches; differences in head and facial markings; and variations in color (Wright and Wright, 1957). These dif- ferences in color and pattern are the principal bases for identification of the various subspecies, and there generally is little difficulty in identifying the dif- ferent varieties. In some areas of California an occa-
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