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Posted by nategodin on February 13, 2003 at 23:19:42:
In Reply to: i think everybody here's correct... posted by rtdunham on February 13, 2003 at 20:16:53:
:yes, imho it's polygenic, the result of the interplay of multiple genes. (snip!)
Thanks for the info... interesting stuff!
:Oh, and since nobody's mentioned it, Louis Porras says the tricolors are found at altitude in honduras, and the tangerines in the lowlands. if you think about it, that makes sense in terms of avolutionary adaptation: the tricolors typically "darken" up as they age, with increased melanin often even obscuring the white bands, so you end up with a dark red and black "bicolor". Imagine that snake, thousands of feet above sea level, basking in order to thermoregulate: which animal's gonna achieve better thermoregulation in that instance, a light orange tangerine, or a dark-red and black bicolor (tricolor).
Yup, makes sense, especially since you see the same thing a bit further south... Costa Rican milksnakes (stuarti) at low elevations, and their melanistic cousins, black milks, at higher altitudes. Do tangerine hondos tend to grow longer than tricolors as well? That seems to be another trait of montane tropical milks.
Nate
