paradox..a mystery

http://ballpython.com/top_imgs/paradox.jpg

Can anyone tell me what the term 'paradox' means and how I should understand this genetically?

Thx!

In simple terms you can think of a "paradox" as two birds, specificaly water fowl...er no wait...lets try again:

In simple terms you can think of a "paradox" as something that SEEMS unreal yet with your own eyes you can see that it IS real. In that respect the image of the animal you posted is exactly that. As to the genetics background on these animals I'll let someone more qualified...or who has done a quick google search answer that portion of the question.

From the American Heritage Dictionary that's sitting on my desk ...

par·a·dox (păr'-dŏks') n.

1. A seemingly contradictory statement that may nonetheless be true: the paradox that standing is more tiring than walking.

2. One exhibiting inexplicable or contradictory aspects: “The silence of midnight, to speak truly, though apparently a paradox, rung in my ears” (Mary Shelley).

3. An assertion that is essentially self-contradictory, though based on a valid deduction from acceptable premises.

4. A statement contrary to received opinion.

The term is used in ball pythons when a mutation is born with a characteristic that seems contrary to the expected appearance of the mutation ... An amel albino with black pigment ... an ivory with yellow belly patterning randomly splashed around the body ... etc.

Very little is known genetically speaking about paradox's in ball pythons, but as more and more mutations are being produced more and more examples of paradoxs are appearing in captive collections ... it will take some time, but I'm sure an explanation will be worked out eventually.

-adam

hark the orical speaks

Pass that American Heritage Dictionary, Adam - it's sorely needed around here!


(did I hear right the next Firefox has built-in spell-check?)

paradoxes are fascinating... that albino looks like it was inked with oil


i love firefox!

is it known if paradox's are gentic, or just random? and if they are genetic would a pied be a type of paradox in some respects since it appears to be somewhat of a combination of 2 differant morphs.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by piranhaking

is it known if paradox's are gentic, or just random? and if they are genetic would a pied be a type of paradox in some respects since it appears to be somewhat of a combination of 2 differant morphs.

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So far, it is not known if a paradox animal can create paradox offspring at any point or if it's just a random mutation.

And no, piebaldism is a well documented genetic mutation that occurs in many species ... they are not a "paradox" because when you breed two animals posessing pied genetics together, the outcome is predictable (even though the amount of white may not be) ... paradox albinos, for example, are a paradox because no one expects to see black blotches on an albino.

-adam